Grandma’s Gallery – drawn at age 84

“People think I traced,” grandma said with a chuckle as she showed me her newest collection of artwork, “but I drew these myself.”

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“I’m 84 years old and I can touch my toes.” As my grandma spoke these words, she chuckled and smiled wide. I knew it well – that smile. So full of joy.

When I was a young child, watching my grandma thread yarn through plastic canvas, and marvelling at her ability, I saw that smile. As she pointed out pictures of her kids and grandkids, each a part of the mural that covered her wall – a collage that filled her heart – she smiled. So full of joy.

When I was a teen, she said, “You’ve had a birthday lately,” and led me to a shelf bursting with floral arrangements she’d created. “Pick one,” she said, and it was that same smile she flashed. So full of joy.

Someone who saw my grandma’s joy might think she didn’t have a trouble in the world, but she had more than her share of cares. So how did she smile? I know: she shared her secret long ago. Pictures of her grandkids weren’t the only thing she had pasted to her walls. She posted scripture on plain paper. Simple truths. Living words breathing hope. 

It was this hope that gave her a smile in the midst of trial. 

Her hope has, at long last, been fulfilled. 

The hope she had, she shared with me, with all of her family. I grieve I didn’t get to see her one last time – I didn’t get to be one of the few who sat by her side, passing those pictures she once had pasted to her wall, remembering those scriptures she had written in her heart.

I cry because I have lost grandma’s smile. I miss it already. I admire her joy – the world needs more of it, and as she departs I wish I could smile in memory of her.

Last summer, when I hugged grandma good-bye, knowing I might never get to embrace her again, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, as they now flow.

“Don’t cry,” grandma said. And I can hear her saying it again, “Don’t cry, I’m happier here.” And that reminds me of grandma’s hope. 

When my tears dry, and I know they will, I’ll think of grandma smiling up there, without a care. And I’ll cling to grandma’s hope – knowing it leads to joy.