Emmaline felt like a hole had been opened up in her chest when her grandmother passed away. Grandma had been living with Emmaline and Mom, taking care of things while Mom was working. Having the three of them in their tiny apartment made it hard for any of them to have space to herself. But as Emmaline spent more and more time with Grandma, she came to love having her around.
At first, Grandma would ask for her help straightening up, and then from there they cleaned and did dishes together. They walked to the market and back. Grandma even started helping Emmaline with her homework, trying hard to understand things that she had never learned herself and then talking and working through the assignment with Emmaline. She had a way of leading Emmaline to the right answer without giving it to her.
As time went on and Emmaline got older, her conversations with Grandma turned to serious things like the purpose of life and how to navigate the world as an adult. Grandma had many life experiences Emmaline hadn’t been aware of, and she learned how Grandma saw the world and had made many wise choices.
But Grandma’s death came too quickly, and Emmaline could think of many more questions she wanted to ask.
The next time Emmaline had a difficult choice to make, she thought of Grandma’s experiences and remembered a photo she had taken of her one afternoon at the market. She took out her phone and pulled up the picture. Given what Grandma had experienced and what she had learned, what might she encourage Emmaline to do? Pondering this question helped Emmaline come to a conclusion about what to do, and she felt more confident and able to move forward.
After that, whenever she faced a crossroads, Emmaline looked at that photo and considered Grandma’s wisdom. She could almost hear Grandma’s voice giving her guidance. When she listened to those thoughts, she never regretted the path she chose.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
On commenting: Please share your thoughts! You can leave an email address, but it’s not required. Leaving an email address may prompt you to sign in with a social media or WordPress account.
The Weekly Parable 
This is why we need to write journals and personal histories. Then we can help our children even after we’re gone.
LikeLike