Everyone calls me Alison, but my name is Mary Alison. It's a name I share with my mom, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, and now my daughter. It's a name I'm very proud of.
I never had the opportunity to meet my grandmother. She died when my mom was just a young 14-year old girl, long before I was ever thought of. But I still feel like I know her.
My mom was careful to share my grandmother with my sister and me as often as something reminded her of Mary Louise Lashly Price. I remember my mother braiding back my sister's long dark hair and admiring the widow's peak that graced her forehead, remarking, "You got that from your Maw Maw Price."
For years I proudly donned a square bronze medallion with the name "Mary" inscribed in curly letters. It was a necklace passed down from my grandmother, to my mom, and then to me. The piece was so well-loved that you had to squint a bit to read the name, but I knew what it said. I also know that my grandmother started her own medical lab and was a smart, independent and strong woman who respected her husband and never ate her supper until he was home from work to share it with her, no matter how late.
I am so grateful that my mother has made sure that my grandmother's legacy lives on through memories and traditions. It's something I hope to do for my children.
I never had the opportunity to meet my grandmother. She died when my mom was just a young 14-year old girl, long before I was ever thought of. But I still feel like I know her.
My mom was careful to share my grandmother with my sister and me as often as something reminded her of Mary Louise Lashly Price. I remember my mother braiding back my sister's long dark hair and admiring the widow's peak that graced her forehead, remarking, "You got that from your Maw Maw Price."
For years I proudly donned a square bronze medallion with the name "Mary" inscribed in curly letters. It was a necklace passed down from my grandmother, to my mom, and then to me. The piece was so well-loved that you had to squint a bit to read the name, but I knew what it said. I also know that my grandmother started her own medical lab and was a smart, independent and strong woman who respected her husband and never ate her supper until he was home from work to share it with her, no matter how late.
I am so grateful that my mother has made sure that my grandmother's legacy lives on through memories and traditions. It's something I hope to do for my children.
That's why this week I rolled up my sleeves, dirtied my kitchen and served my family platters of chicken-fried back strap, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, black-eyed peas, pear salad and butterscotch pudding.
After Lance sat down at the dinner table and offered grace, he uttered the words I hoped to hear, "This reminds me of my momma."
Like me, my children have a grandmother they never got the chance to know . But like my mother, I will make sure they remember her.
I will tell them how the 5 foot tall, 120lb ball of energy ate a bowl of Bluebell ice-cream every night, just like they do, and how she loved to volunteer but hated to go to meetings. I will tell my kids about the time she went walking and got chased by two dogs, and how she outran them all the way home. I will tell them that every Thursday morning she used to meet my momma to pray and afterwards she would pick up breakfast, hang it on the back door to our old house and put a sticky note in the window, not to disturb us.
I will show them the journal where she wrote beautiful prayers for them and for me. I will point out the ways she served the Lord and the people she touched because I am one of those people.
My children will know Brenda Lorraine Glaze Howell because I will remember her for them. And I will try to live in such a way that when it is time to tell my stories, my children and my grandchildren will want to remember me.
Promise for Today:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:3-6
After Lance sat down at the dinner table and offered grace, he uttered the words I hoped to hear, "This reminds me of my momma."
Like me, my children have a grandmother they never got the chance to know . But like my mother, I will make sure they remember her.
I will tell them how the 5 foot tall, 120lb ball of energy ate a bowl of Bluebell ice-cream every night, just like they do, and how she loved to volunteer but hated to go to meetings. I will tell my kids about the time she went walking and got chased by two dogs, and how she outran them all the way home. I will tell them that every Thursday morning she used to meet my momma to pray and afterwards she would pick up breakfast, hang it on the back door to our old house and put a sticky note in the window, not to disturb us.
I will show them the journal where she wrote beautiful prayers for them and for me. I will point out the ways she served the Lord and the people she touched because I am one of those people.
My children will know Brenda Lorraine Glaze Howell because I will remember her for them. And I will try to live in such a way that when it is time to tell my stories, my children and my grandchildren will want to remember me.
Promise for Today:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:3-6
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