In every family there is that one family member that is known as the warrior, the iron lady/man or the glue that keeps the family together, that one person that inspires us & motivates us without saying a word, whose actions are louder than words and whose faith is so unshakable, so unmovable all you can do is respect them & try and learn from them.
My grandmother the iron lady was an amazing woman and overcame immense adversity like no other. Our entire family history is actually filled with so many stories of overcoming adversity & maintaining faith in the darkness that I will have to create many different posts to be able to give you a more detailed background. But today we will focus on the iron - lady, the warrior in my family and how I am so much like her in many ways.
My grandmother was originally from Namibia, from a poor family as most in those day. The depression hit South Africa just as hard as everywhere else in the world & life was hard all round. She came to South Africa with her family looking for a better life and that's when she met and fell in love with my grandfather and soon after they were married.
My grandfather had a dream, he wanted to be a farmer, my grandfather who was a mechanic in WWII was a skilled worker, but his dream was to own and run a successful farm. My grandmother of course supported his dream and soon after the war they were able to purchase land and start building the dream farm. My grandmother & grandfather built the house (with rocks and cement) by themselves and lived in the house they built, up until my grandfather's health started to fail. Soon children followed and now the family of two was a family of four. My grandfather had cows and grew vegetables and citrus, by all means the success story.
But of course nothing is never just as clear cut as that. You can ask any farmer, running and managing a farm is not easy, it is hard work and sometimes you just don't make the turnover you need to ensure responsibilities are paid on time.
With two small children to raise & to educate my grandmother eventually had to take on a job in the nearby town of Brits. Things were so tight at one stage that my father & uncle walked barefoot for a while, sometimes in the middle of winter. Luckily as most local farm schools were of that time, being barefoot in class was 100% accepted. Bringing in extra money with the job, my grandmother did her utmost for my father and uncle in regard to their education and the betterment of their farm. It was hard for her juggling all the responsibilities and raising two boys who were adventurous and who were "hell raisers" but she seemed to pull it off without a complaint.
It was only later that she told my father that times were so hard at one stage, that she would lock herself in the bathroom and cry (he never knew), once she was done crying she would get up and say: "Okay enough of that" & get back to it.
Sometimes you need to allow yourself to cry, or be depressed but you can't stay there. The world always wants something from us and always needs our attention or these days our panic. It seems so senseless the way we are always running around like mad people to get home or to get to work. We have become so numb to feeling anything or we feel everything at once. We groan & complain & exhaust ourselves until our bodies can't take it any longer. I have literally heard instances of peoples body's shutting down from exhaustion. That is scary.
The reason why I told you my grandmothers story is this: Although life put so many pressures on her and required so much of her, her faith never once wavered. She prayed and remained in faith with every challenge in her life. I can't remember a situation where she did not praise God or bring up God in a discussion, her faith really was unshakable. We all face unspeakable situations, situations that cripple us, be it from people hurting us or disappointments or even loss. But, whether we remain in that rut or whether we cry & get up again like my grandmother did, one thing remains constant in our lives and that is our faith & hope that things will get better and with a little faith our situations can change immeasurably. When times come when I think of my grandmother I am always reminded of a verse where Jesus is talking to his disciples about the peace (Shalom) he gave as a parting gift (John 14: 27 - 28). The reason why this verse comes to mind is because I don't remember her ever looking overwhelmed or stressed. She always looked so calm, like she knew God was in control and that is exactly where I want to be as well.
Even though we all face situations we don't talk about and face situations that are so debilitating we always have a choice. We can stay in peace and rely on God, or we can panic and run around and be stressed and harm our health. Sometimes all we need to do is trust that tomorrow with be better. Better more, know that God is in control.
Trust me no one is better than moving the mountains in our lives like God.
Scripture of the day:
Matthew 6: 34
'So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own."
Chat soon
T
