Country music singer Kellie Pickler has a song on her first album entitled “My Angel.” The song pays tribute to her deceased grandmother who raised her. There’s a line in the song that goes something like this…”on the front porch in that old blue swing, you would sit and we would sing Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me…” The album came out several years ago and I remember listening to the song with my cousins Rhonda, Sherry, and Diane. We all just sat there in tears thinking about Bertie Mae, our grandmother.
Autumn takes me back to the days when Bertie Mae loved to venture out to the front porch. She loved it when the season began to change and the air was cooler. As the school bus dropped us off each day, she would be perched there, legs crossed, swinging back and forth and whistling a familiar tune. We always had to stop and tell her about our day. She was our symbol of home. She had this amazing ability to calm everything. She was the constant spiritual influence in the lives of each member of our family. I spent countless hours in “therapy” in that swing beside her. In my younger days when I was struggling with a test or a school bully to my adult days of career worries and love lost, she always had inspiring words.
One of the most memorable and heart wrenching nights I remember is when my first cousin Tim was killed in motorcycle accident. We were both 15 at the time. Several family members were at a community meeting in Roy Webb fighting the board of education to keep the small elementary school open when we got the news of the tragic accident. We rushed home to Bertie Mae. My uncle had already delivered the news. I ran toward her porch but he held up his hand to stop us. She was sitting in the porch swing in the dark alone, he stood on the steps nearby, giving her privacy. I asked what she was doing and she simply replied, “I am praying, Sugar.” Looking back there are so many times I walked up and found her in that swing with her eyes closed. We used to tease her about napping in the swing, but I realize most of the time she was deep in conversation with the Lord.
Anytime there was an illness or a tragedy in our family I was worried about her. This just demonstrates my inexperience with faith. She was always okay. She had God on her side. She always calmed me when I was in one of my high strung panic stages by telling me “The Lord’s gonna take care of me.” As I have matured in my faith and spirituality I understand that connection and appreciate her convictions. She was exactly right. She didn’t leave this earth until God was ready for her and that’s just the way it works. There was no need to worry.
Several years ago I was walking through Lowe’s and I spotted a beautiful white porch swing. It was perfect. It reminded me so much of the swing she had. I bought it and put it on my front porch. It was cooler weather at the time and I was particularly missing her and going through a hard time emotionally. I used to take a blanket and go out on the porch, sit on my steps, wrap up and stare at that swing. As I prayed, I could just see her sitting there, counseling me. I found a lot of comfort there and over time it really improved my prayer life. I moved from that house and my best friend is now using the swing, but I go by often and sit a spell and it brings back wonderful memories and offers great comfort like the kind that only comes from above. Thank God for extraordinary people like Bertie Mae and the outstanding Christian lives they lead.
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