One of the root causes of depression is grief. When someone we love that is really close to
us passes away, it’s very difficult to deal with their absence and it can cause
the chemical imbalance which results in depression. I have heard many religious people say that
if you are a Christian, you should have no worries because you will see your
loved one again. It is certainly true
that we will see them again, but it doesn’t stop the heart from hurting and
missing someone. A colleague’s wife read
a recent article I wrote on depression and she sent me a beautiful letter
encouraging me. She too is a member of
the Church of Christ, so we have similar beliefs on a wide range of
topics. In regards to the death of a
loved one, she wrote, “I like to think of a loved one’s passing as this, they
took a different car to the family reunion, so they got there before me. I don’t know when my car will arrive, but I
know they will already be at the feast waiting.” I thought it was so poignant and
special. It inspired me to write about
family reunions and the “feast” with loved ones.
I have written many things in the past about my granny,
Bertie Mae Cochran. I was blessed to
have two other grandmothers as well who equally influenced my life. The best cook in the land was my Dad’s mother,
Ruth Mae Goodwin. I will refer to her as
Maw Maw, as she was affectionately known by our family. Maw Maw lived in a quaint little cottage in
the Boiling Springs community of Ohatchee.
She was a short and somewhat stocky woman with a huge personality. Huge!
Maw Maw was a long time member of the Ohatchee Church of Christ where I
now attend. In fact, she and my
grandfather, Floyd Wesley Goodwin were founding members.
My Paw Paw died when I was only six years old, but I had my
beautiful Maw Maw until I was thirty.
She is partially responsible for my pudgy physique through high school
and my early twenties. You never visited
her without eating. She and my mother
may have had ups and downs along the way, but they agreed on something very
special in our family…Sunday dinner!
After church on Sunday we would gather at the little house
with the big yard and have the most wonderful meals. Certain things linger in my mind about Maw
Maw’s house. She had this seventies
yellow top table that I loved. I wish I
could find one now, because in my mind, it was the perfect table for southern
cuisine. We would gather around and have
the best peas, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, pork chops, etc. In addition to a meat and about seven
vegetables at every meal, Maw Maw made the best homemade biscuits. She would take her time cooking them. I used to love watching her knead the dough
and roll them out. We would talk up a
storm while she worked. The final
trimming on the dinner that I loved the most was her lemon pound cake drizzled
with lemon icing. She always knew it was
my favorite. She made one for my 21st
birthday and I ate the entire thing all by myself.
I am not a Goodwin by birth.
My biological family is Gowens, however, when my mother married into the
Goodwin family shortly after I turned three years old, they took ownership of
me. Maw Maw never treated me any
differently than her other grandchildren.
In fact, I sometimes think she worked much harder to make sure I knew
how much she loved me. During the summer
when we were out of school she would come and stay for a whole week at our
house. She was best friends with Bertie
Mae, so you can imagine what kind of spiritual influence I had with two Church
of Christ grandmothers raising me. Maw
Maw had this wonderful laugh that I can still hear to this day. Every time she would come and stay at our
house, I would put a record on the player of one of Minnie Pearl’s stand up
routines and just sit and watch Maw Maw shake with laughter. We created so many wonderful memories that I
can reach in the back of my mind today and rely on when things get hard.
Like most people, I have made many mistakes in my life, but
I know Maw Maw was one of my biggest fans.
Every time I stand in the pulpit at the Ohatchee Church of Christ, I
know that she is smiling down from Heaven saying to the others…”that’s Ray’s
boy, my grandson!”
When our hearts become heavy and we long to be with those
who were called up to be with the Father before us, it’s important to dwell on
the happy times rather than the sadness.
Sometimes it’s a daily struggle for me, but it’s good to know that I can
close my eyes and still see, smell, and hear my beautiful grandmothers. What a great feast it will be around the
table in Heaven. I can’t wait to visit
Maw Maw there and sit around her yellow table and rejoice for eternity. Never forget how great and wonderful God is
and because of the sacrifice Jesus made, we will be reunited in Glory.
Love to you all…
No comments:
Post a Comment