Grandma's Heritage

I'm celebrating Grandparent's Day a little early.....

This is a miniature acrylic painting I did for my grandmother back in the late 80's.  It is painted on a 4 inch wooden heart.  The quilt on the right is after an actual quilt  she made. When she passed away the painting was returned to me and I gave it to my mom.  

I took a picture of it today while at my mom's.  We had a lovely visit and talked a great deal about our great-great relatives.  Where they came from (Scotland, Ireland, England) and what they did:(constable, justice of the peace, commercial fisherman, stage coach driver, lumberjack, mechanic).

Interesting that the jobs mentioned were all done by the men.  I guess because it was rarer for women to be employed.  But my grandmother, who this painting represents, always worked.  She worked  at the state mental hospital and took in laundry at home.  She hauled water to do the laundry and dishes and chopped wood to do the cooking. She was a farmer's wife, did bookkeeping for my grandpa's small garage and of course took care of her family.  She had wanted to be a school teacher, but that dream never happened.  
     But the work my grandma put into raising her family, caring for others, accepting adversity with a cheerful spirit and loving everyone despite their flaws is still influential today.  The work of her hands is still alive in the quilts and afghans she made for all her children and grandchildren.  She taught me how to quilt and crochet as well.
     Thoughts of Grandma always evoke memories of farm animals, the smell of hay, a wood stove clanking as she prepared supper, fresh bread and cinnamon rolls. But the strongest memory is that of a woman who loved and laboured honorably, whose  strength and honor were her clothing and in her tongue was the law of kindness  (Proverbs 31:25-26).
     Whatever we do leaves a heritage for which we will be remembered.  I always thought the Proverbs 31 woman is hard to live up to.  But I see nearly every quality evident in my grandma's life.   I think the key is in verse 30, "a woman that fears the Lord shall be praised."    
     Will we leave behind a memory of loving the Lord and laboring for Him?   My life verse is Colossians 3:23,  "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,"  and I pray my children, grandchildren and their children and those whose lives I affect will remember me for that.

May you be the person the Lord desires you to be.
Laura