DIVINE APPOINTMENTS
By Gladys Grimaud | Continued from previous
in every way…feeding her, bathing her, doting on her and even getting up in the middle of the night to turn Susie in her bed as she slept so that Susie would not have bedsores. And Susie. She thrived under such loving care and lived to be 66 years old. As I was growing up, I was at Aunt Faye’s house often, just like most of the other relatives. Her home was always a loving environment with the smell of fresh coffee and a fresh can of her famous homemade peanut brittle to munch on. I loved going to Aunt Faye’s house. It was at Aunt Faye’s house on a Christmas Eve in 1956 when my sweetheart gave me an engagement ring and asked me to marry him. Throughout the years, I never heard Aunt Faye complain one time about taking care of Susie. All I ever saw was the love of a wonderful woman caring for her baby that lived upon this earth for Aunt Faye 66 years dependent upon a mother’s love. The kind of love that will make a difference. The kind of love needed in homes in Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston, and cities all across the United States and the world. Love like that of Aunt Faye. And Jesus. The love Aunt Faye poured unselfishly into Susie’s life can only be described by reading these words from the Bible: John 15:13-15 (NIV) “Greater love has no 12
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one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Aunt Faye is a friend of Jesus who willingly lay down her life for Susie, now in heaven with Jesus, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of her precious mother, Nora Faye Smith. The two of them will have plenty of catch-up time communicating and enjoying each other’s company in the most wonderful ways throughout eternity. Aunt Faye will feel right at home in that environment, because it is after all, a place that is saturated with love. I am looking forward to getting in on some of those conversations and getting to know my cousin who could only communicate on this earth through her eyes, smiles or frowns, which her mother could always interpret. I can’t wait to get to know you Susie in all the capacity that God created within you. As for me, I was always in awe of Aunt Faye’s incredible love and the bond between Mother and Child. Aunt Faye is embarrassed if you try to make a heroine out of her, but how can I not acknowledge such a woman and say “Thank you, Aunt Faye, for the example. Whenever I want to be lifted up and encouraged, I always think of you. And I will love you and Susie forever.” may 2016