Here I am again Grandkids. There's a lot to a persons life. Not just what we do on a daily basis, but what we think about and dream about. This time I am going to give you a little insight into who I have become after all my years on earth. I have decided to try to fill in some of the things I accidentally left out, but this is the way I am thinking today. When I lived in Kodiak, I went to church with my Grandma every Sunday, and was a member of an organization run by the Pastors wife called the Guild Girls. It was something to do, and we would meet every week on Friday evening, and whoever was in charge would bring the ingredients to make dinner for everyone. The meeting would be held in the churchs' recreation room. There was a piano there and often I would play hymns for everyone. We later on spent a week across the bay at Woody Island for Bible study. Everyday we would do something special for our secret pals, do some chores like helping out with serving breakfast, and cleaning up the dishes. We would pray together and spend some quiet time alone to read the Bible, study and pray.
When I was 12 years old, one Sunday morning the Sermon was about the friendship we could experience with Christ. When the pastor finished his Sermon, he always gave an invitation for anyone who wanted to, to accept Christ as their Savior. He asked if there was anyone there that day that wanted Jesus as their friend. To always be there for us, guide us, and be interested in our lives. My heart started pounding and I felt like I wanted to cry, and I thought about all the loneliness in my life, and how miserable my situation at home was. I decided that if anyone needed a true friend, it was me. So I walked and practically ran to the front of the church and the pastor took my hand and asked me some questions about my decision. I tried to answer him, but I was choking on tears and just nodded my head. That day something changed inside of me. I was no longer alone and no longer lonely. Something wonderful came into my life and it would grow over the years until I became a brand new person. Someone with a sense of humor, self-cofidence, and courage. I became more outgoing and friendly and yet there was a quiet place in my heart that only I had access to. It was a private place filled with peace and prayer. I would go there when I had problems, or just to feel at peace. A place of refuge. A place of peace and love.
This experience would never leave me and I hope someday you yourself will find this wonderful peace in your heart. Right now you are so young and innocent. You don't know how very mean people can be, and you don't know about all the hate and conflict the world can bring to you. So I want to be a good example for you to follow and that's part of the reason why our home is so peaceful and why when you are here you feel like you are in a happy place.
The Bible means a lot to me. I have read a lot of it and I have a very personal and good relationship with my creator. That's why I always talk to you so much about God. I want you to appreciate life and all it's many wonders. God created the universe and you are a part of the universe. All things were created for us to love and enjoy. We should be very thankful for the earth that we live in, the beautiful starlit sky, the moon, the sun, the wind and rain, all the people in the world who we love and who loves us in return. The earth provides the food we eat, and if we eat properly, the food we eat strengthens us and nurtures our bodies. Sometimes we overeat and then we get fat. Like Grandma. But there are many reasons why we overeat, and those problems usually occur in our minds, in our personalities and the answer to those problems is hard to find. We all like good food. Sometimes people make fun of us and that hurts because people don't understand why we do it. So they make fun, rather than try to understand us. But Jesus isn't like that. He wants to help us with all our problems and he would never make fun of us. He is one of the best friends you could ever have. So I want you to have that friendship in your life, and this little entry is to bring some things to your attention.
When you make fun of one another and call each other names, you aren't thinking properly about who your brother's and sister's are. God made your sister and your brother, just like he made you. You didn't create your brother or sister and you don't have the right to call each other names, and say "You are fat", or "You are stupid". I want very much to see you all get along. My brother was very mean to me, and he was never corrected for his behavior. So when I grew up he and I wern't close. My sister is 10 years younger than me, so when I was 18 years old and left home, she was only 8 years old and we were never close either. So for all intents and purposes I was an only child. I want very much to have the love of my sister and brother, but it's too late. They don't want to know me or be a part of my life, so I was very much on my own growing up.
But you are all close in age, except for Kris. Kris is still a baby in many ways. And I am sure you are all very protective and understanding of him. But you need to understand each other also and if you go to church but never practice what you learn, what are you going for? If you treat other's with kindness and respect, you will get kindness and respect in return.
When I was working outside the home, I had many opportunities to witness to other people about the love of God by being kind to others. It's really not that difficult. When people buy you things, it's polite to say thank you, but if you don't take care of things people give you, you are in effect saying that that person's sacrifice and gift to you mean nothing. There is so much to learn about life and behavior. People are very complex. They all have brains that work differently, but almost everyone responds to kindness. It makes you feel good to be kind to others. It's a 2-fold blessing. You make them feel good, and you feel good about yourself. The easiest way to think about God, is the simple statement in the Bible that God is Love. If you love someone, you have experienced God. Guess who you are embracing when you hate someone? The worst possible choice you can make in life is to HATE anyone! Just as there is a God who is pure love, there also is the opposite, the devil who makes you hate people. When you are mean to each other, guess who you are pleasing! And it's not God!
There are commandments in the Bible that we should all follow. The commandment in the Bible for children is: "Honor your Father and your Mother"
which means to respect and love your parents and do what they tell you to do without griping about it, or throwing yourself down and sighing. Your Mom should not have to tell you to keep your room clean. Your Nana and Nano bought a very nice home that you live in. You even have your own pool. It's only right that you take care of your room and your clothes and toys and I-Pods and TV's and all the things they buy you. Take care of them and appreciate them and thank them for all they have done for you. They may not spend a lot of time with you and I don't want you to think that money is the most important thing in the world. But you can respect your grandparents for all they try to do for you. They, in their own way, love you. So do Grandpa and Grandma. We love you tremendously and even if we don't have a lot of money, we give you our love and our time and we feed you good food and let you play and enjoy yourselves when you are here. So I want you to realize you have a lot of love in your lives and you are very lucky. There are children in this world who go to bed hungry every night. They don't have nice houses and they don't have TV's to watch or X-boxes or video games. They have very little and they would love to trade places with you. So I want you to be grateful for what you have and appreciate and love the people in your lives. I want you to be happy, productive, sensible, and loving people when you grow up and it is partially my responsibility to train you when you need it, and to give you my love, which means I want to give you good advice that will ensure that you are the best people you can be when you do grow up.
So I just wanted to make a few things clear to you when I tell you about life and love and God and people. You are getting old enough to understand what I am telling you. So listen, and do the right things in life and you will be a happy and contented person, because you will be at peace with yourself. I will close this little section and hope that you all read and heed what it tells you. Love is the basis for a happy life. The more love you give from your heart, the more love can come in a fill your heart after you are good to others. I want to spare you a lot of heartache. I don't want you to suffer. Because I love you.
Grandma
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