Grammar Everybody loves grandma. They love going to her house, smelling her fresh baked goods in the oven, listening to her wonderful stories about how she grew up, and how much she loves her grandchildren. This is one of the experiences I have been missing, because of the recent loss of my grandmother. I had never before met Ruth Sarvis, the woman called Grammar, even by those not related to her. When I was informed that I needed to write an essay, I presumed it was an opportune time. I only chatted with Grammar for a short while, but while I did I learned three very important things about her. Grammar is a wonderful woman who loves to smile, adores her children, and more than anything loves the Lord. Grammar is not the type to keep her door locked. When I first arrived at the small house with my cousin Bonny, I was slightly surprised to see her walk right in with just the slightest hesitation. Her home looked just as I had pictured it with comfortable furniture and pictures on the walls, and the warm smell of lotion floating around, except for the exercise bike sitting right in the middle of the living room. I was instantly greeted by a small woman with bright blue eyes and a smile as wide as an ocean. Grammar was so excited to see her great grand baby, Bonny’s little girl, and Bonny too, of course. As we got settled in, Grammar had to pause the conversation momentarily while she checked her cheese grits in the oven. When she opened it, the warm smell of deliciously cooked food floated to me and my mouth began to water.
The proud mother started explaining that one of her children was a missionary in Thailand, and was coming to visit her. His wife’s favorite food, she had told me, was cheese grits, and he loved ranch style beans with hotdogs chopped up in it. She then went through and told me about her five sons, her oldest being sixty-three, and her finished with her youngest daughter, who is now fifty-five. She said, “Most people would feel old knowing that they have a child who is sixty-three, but I have never felt old yet!” When she finished, she smiled at me and said, “I’m so proud of my kids. The best thing anyone can say about their kids is that they are serving the Lord [and all of mine are].”
When I asked her if she had any words of wisdom she could give me, or anyone of this generation she said two things. First, she pulled out her handy Bible and picked up a small piece of paper from inside. It said, “To keep your marriage cup over filled with love, when you’re wrong, admit it. When you’re right, SHUT UP!” She laughed at that then continued to tell me to be careful who I dated, not to date anyone who did not know the Lord as long as I was a Christian.
On the comment of dating, she began to talk about her husband, Steve. The first thing she said was, “That man was more like Jesus than anybody I’ve ever known.” When asked what she was the most proud of, without a thought she answered, “Steve.” It’s hard not to see how very much she loved him. She told me that she met him while at Bible school, and right then she prayed, “Lord, don’t let me fall in love with him unless it’s who you want me to be with.” They got married three months later. Steve passed away two years ago, and before that he lived in a nursing home because he