Legacy of a Nana

“As for me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.” Isaiah 59:21

I just had to post about this today. I’d imagine that most of you have been affected by the life of another person at some time or another. As a woman, there have been occasions that the achievements and/or characteristics of a particular woman have left a deep impression on me. This happened yesterday. Her name was Lena S. and I had never made her personal acquaintance before. But I feel that I got to know her yesterday, and what I found about this lady most definitely made an impact that will remain for who knows how long—hopefully forever. I was at her funeral. My husband and daughter and I went as a show of Christian love to Lena’s daughter, who is a member of our congregation. To be honest, it wasn’t necessarily a welcome intrusion into a week for which I had many other things planned. We went, as people often do, to be an encouragement to our sister.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that we did go. I was blessed beyond measure. This dear lady went to be with her Lord last Friday. If she had lived until July, she would have been 102 years old. The church where the service was held was not brimming at the seams, with long lines waiting outside to file past the casket. In fact, there were many empty seats. Women are doing big things these days, you know—running for President, being high government officials, CEO’s of major corporations, making millions of dollars as talk show hosts, and on and on. Lena did none of these things. The people who stood up and reflected on her life weren’t dignitaries or celebrities. They were her children and grandchildren. You could tell by the looks on their faces that her great-grandchildren were in agreement, even though many of them had not known her when she was well.

Folks, as I listened, the tears started flowing and even though I hadn’t known her before, I wished that I had. There isn’t enough space here to tell you what each one said. Suffice it to say, that I was blessed. The Christian seed of a godly woman, widow of a godly man, remembering with thankfulness their godly heritage. I took note of the fact that her grandchildren called her “Nana.” Needless to say, that was special to this nanna.

Folks, if we’re going to achieve any measure of “greatness” in the world in which we live, may it be that it would even come close to what I heard yesterday. Oh, I pray that you and I can leave such a ancestry of righteousness! Just to give you a taste, grandmoms, I’ll close with an outline of the reflections given by one of her grandsons, who is the son of my sister from church:

He remembered these things about his nana:

The love of Christ in her heart.
The peace of Christ in her spirit.
The generosity of Christ in her giving.
The humility of Christ in her service (and in her repentance).
The work of Christ in her actions.

He said that all of this was found in one woman. I don’t know about you, but she gave me a practical example of what I want to strive for as a woman, mom and grandmom of today.