More Than A Bunch of Grapes and a Bus Ride

 
 

Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:25-26

   They called her Jenny Red.
   Jenny Red  came into our lives and became an adopted grandmother. She would come by the house carrying a zip lock bag full of grapes. Little feet ushered excited little people to the door, anxious to see their Jenny Red. Cartoon voices filled the air, "Jenny Red is here!"
   Smooth and pudgy hands would reach up and take ahold of beautiful, weathered hands. The babies, a mere 2 & 3 years old, would snuggle up to Jenny Red, munch on grapes that tasted better than any I could buy, and listen to her as she read through a stack of Golden Books.
   Jenny Red had no grandchildren. Her husband, a war veteran, was in a nursing home. We took the kids to spend time Christmas morning with Jenny Red and her husband.
  


   They called her Julie.
   Her name was Jewel but that is a difficult name to say when you are a preschool child.
   Julie had no grandchildren. Her husband had passed away several years earlier. She, too, became an adopted grandmother.
   Julie took our son on bus rides. They stopped at Frisch's Big Boy Restaurant, that was her favorite place to eat.
  She brought our daughter trinkets and treasures. She provided clown costumes for our 2 tots to wear for Halloween. We only made one stop - Julie's house.
   Her laughter filled the house when she came by to see the kids.
  


   My husband was pastoring a church in Kentucky. I can only describe it as a difficult-at-best place to minister. He refers to it as the back side of the desert in reference to Moses' hard years of learning after he left Egypt. His hours were long and frustrations were great. My family lived in Louisiana, which meant it was a long distance call in pre-cell phone days. We were pretty broke, so calling my mom in moments of need was not an option. As a stay at home mom of two (at that time), I remember the loneliness and the resolve to make every day count as best I could.


   Then along came Jenny Red and Julie.   


   These two ladies, aged and alone, placed our young family in their hearts.
  
   I watched them play with my kids.
 
   I listened as they read to the kids.


   I smiled when they sang with the kids.


   Sometimes, we enjoyed the treat of having them both show up at the house at the same time!


  These two sweet ladies taught their young pastor's wife life lessons. Not in word but in deed.


   I learned to keep God first.


   Live the way Jesus taught us to live.


   Be forgiving and kind.


   Take care of those you love.


   Be generous.


   Stay true to your word.


   Never give up.


   Attitude is everything.


   Life is never as dreary as it seems.


   All the while they gave my children the gift of love and laughter and hugs and sweet memories, they gave me hope. When the world was gray, Jenny Red and Julie would show up.


   They looked like Jesus to me.


   They have long been gone from this messy old earth, but I can still hear Julie's chuckle and I can still smell Jenny Red's perfume. I'm certain they heard "Well done, Julie!" "Well done, Jenny Red!"


   They gave us so much more than a handful of grapes and a bus ride. When I grow up, I want to be just like them.