Our word this week on Sheltered in Grace is HONOR. When defined, it means to give esteem and respect for what someone has done. I have been blessed with incredible grandmothers, a great mother, much like Timothy. They have poured into me, guided me, pruned me when needed (even when it hurt), and helped mold me to who I am today. So today, I want to honor one of them: Kay Francis Beaman Hays–my maternal grandmother, whose influence still reigns heavily on my life.
My mom’s side of the family had 12 grandchildren–“the dozen”–split evenly with boys and girls. Both of my grandparents-Grandmommy Kay and Grandad Les– worked hard and invested in their family and grandchildren. We spent time learning the ropes and driving the grain truck to the elevators in the summer during wheat harvest, coloring Easter eggs and taking them to the farm in the Spring, loading up in a car caroling to people in town over Christmas, and enjoying MANY family dinners with all 4 of their kids and the grandkids. (Yes, that was a lot of people in the house!)
My grandmother suffered from many health impairments–especially her eyesight–from complications to diabetes. But she kept going.
Nothing stood in her way.
One particular instance was when I went up by myself to stay with them one weekend. Grandad Les was out at the farm working on the sprinkler (which was a constant) and we had planned to order pizza that evening. She thought he was taking too long, so she ordered it and refused to pay for the delivery fee. So, at 13, I hopped in the driver’s seat of the car, she sat in the passenger seat, and we embarked on a journey to the local pizza restaurant. We made it. Even though she was hindered in sight, she knew when I needed to stop. She knew when I needed to go. She “felt” the road and threatened me with dear life if I ever told my grandpa (or my mom for that matter) what we had done. I kept her word until her death in January 1999.
My Grandmommy Kay instilled in us love and our grounded our roots in the importance of family. On another particular weekend, she asked the six granddaughters to come up to spend some time with her. When we arrived, we learned our fate–she was going to teach us how to cook all of the family “traditions”, set a table, and share with us the importance of how to serve our family. At the end of the weekend, she gave us our very own cookbook…one that would help us as we started out on our own. Betty Crocker…This cookbook has traveled with me across a couple of states and I hear her voice every time I open it up. At the start of the quarantine and remote learning, the first lesson we did in 9th Grade English was analyze Kobe Bryant’s poem “Dear Basketball” and then they were asked to choose an inanimate object they wanted to personify in a poem. I chose the cookbook.
Dear Betty Crocker Cookbook,
25 years ago you came into my life
Given by my beautiful Grandmommy Kay.
The weekend was magical with your
6 grandgirls by your side.
With your crisp clean pages
Ready to impart knowledge.
We sat around as you arranged
Yourself on the counter.
And we listened to your voice.
You are a map for dishes found
At our family holiday dinners.
Especially those egg noodles
we eat our weight in
On Thanksgiving Day.
And as we left that weekend,
The ball was in our court.
To take what we learned
And pass it on.
The time came when I left home
And was finally on my own.
I remember opening you up for the first time.
It was that kitchen at LCU
And biscuits were on the menu.
And then the first holiday I was married.
I wanted that meal to be so special.
Dressing. Banana Bread. Turkey.
Your pages guided me to the ingredients
As I ran to the store.
And as I chopped, diced, and boiled.
Success.
And now, it is time to use you
To “Bake to the Future.”
My kids. My own mother, your daughter, at the table
Showing Karis how to cut those noodles.
A picture of what life might be like
When my own grandchildren are born.
When I turn the pages,
I hear your voices.
I hear your guidance.
I hear you teaching me
About importance of family.
25 years ago you came into my life
Given by my Grandmommy Kay.
Now pages are falling out.
Smudges have been left.
But thank you.
Thank you for
the then,
the now,
and the future.
Love,
Leigh Ann Nichols (Your Texan girl)
God blessed me with a beautiful soul as a grandmother…one who instilled in me the value of family, working hard, and what is truly important in life. Her health was such a struggle for much of my life, but you never would have known it. She didn’t complain. She persevered. Strength and dignity were her clothing. She opened her mouth and wisdom and teaching of kindness was on her tongue. And we, as her children and grandchildren, call her blessed–for she definitely “surpassed” expectations. (Proverbs 31)
For that, I will be forever grateful.
Anchored to Him,
Leigh Ann Nichols
