Myrtie Fleming profoundly influenced my spiritual formation as a believer. She did not like the name Myrtie, so she called herself Myrtle. We called her Gram. She was my mother’s grandmother and was born in 1882. One of my earliest memories of her was her 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1953. I had never seen her so dressed up, with a fresh hairdo from the beauty shop and wearing a corsage. My family gathered at my grandmother Jerry’s house, which Gram and my great-grandfather Papa shared. I especially remember the professional photographer in the living room to pose the whole family. I had to sit on the boney knees of Papa who was not used to hugging or holding children. For years afterward my family would go to Jerry’s house to have Sunday lunch after church.
I spent many weekends at my grandmother’s house after Papa died. Jerry spent a lot of her time reading. I hung out with Gram. Before I went to bed at night, and again in the early morning, I would get into her bed and listen to the family stories. After a couple of unfortunate instances, I learned to watch out for the hot water bottle hidden in her covers. Sometimes she would reach for the black leather Bible on her nightstand. In it were listed the names of her family members and closest friends. She had written down their birthdates and when they had died. Sometimes a wedding date had been added. My name was in her Bible, and so were my sisters and our parents.
Gram’s favorite song was Rock of Ages because it was the song her minister father always requested that she sing. I learned nearly as many hymns from Gram as I did in church. She listened to me and sought to answer my questions about God, sorrow and the hard places in the Bible. She taught me about the power of God’s story and the high calling of a minister. I was talking with her the night she had her first stroke. She was the first person I ever stayed with overnight in an emergency room. Hers was the first funeral I ever attended. I still have her Bible. This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I cannot help but ask: Who have been the women of faith that have helped shape your life?
Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Thank God for women of faith. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.
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