The Flame Within

This woman on the right was my beloved and Godly great-grandmother. I came across this picture today and just started bawling. As a child, there were very few people in my life whom I felt loved me, felt safe and secure with, or who gave me a sense of true love and peace. This woman, although I didn’t get to see her as often as I wished, was all of those things to me. She had the most tender and loving spirit! She prayed and spoke of God’s love every time I was in her presence. She amazes me to this day, because there weren’t Christian counselors available to help her through her past pain and grief, and she certainly had a lot, yet… She was the epitome of spiritual healing! She was filled with the Holy Spirit!

Today, I thank God for placing this Godly woman in my life! I think sometimes, you don’t realize how much you love someone until you’re much much older! I sure loved her and can’t wait to spend eternity with her in Heaven. She died about 10 years ago and it’s been a long 10 years without her on this Earth! I fall way short of the Godliness, tenderness, kindness, gentleness, and love this woman beheld… But, I sure hope to somehow follow in her footsteps, if even only a little.

One of my favorite memories of her was when I was 5 years-old. She lived about a mile from my school and I didn’t want to go home after school. Therefore, I walked on a busy road by myself to her apartment building. I knocked on her door and the look of surprise and concern was obvious. Unlike everyone else in my life, she didn’t scold me, yell at me, hit me, or shame me. She received me! She showed me love! She fed me a snack, talked to me about how much she loved me and how she didn’t want anything to happen to me. Then in love she walked me home, held my hand, and she never told my mother about the incident (because she knew that would mean trouble for me). I have very few memories from ages 5 – 8, but I remember this in vivid detail. Mostly, I remember the extreme love and tenderness I felt, as it was a rare feeling for me as a child.

Thank God for someone special in your life today, even if it means going back in the past… even if it means you have to cry over the memories! Show someone intimate God-fearing love today, people forget a lot of things, but they never forget feeling loved.

Blessings, Crystal

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”