granny burns

God is so good in so many ways

some of the ways we experience, see, touch, hear and taste God is through people.

he allows relationships in our lives that leave 'indelible imprints' that cannot be erased. as my father would often say when i was young, things and people you never forget 'in this world or the world to come.

'i am grateful for the few people God has allowed me to know and interact with, even at a young age, that have made lasting impressions, indelible imprints, on my life.

as i grow older, it seems that those who were most influential, were such in my younger years. (there is a lesson in there somewhere)

the fondest memories i have are of when i was most young.

one the people who have made such an impact in my life and influenced my spirit was a long time member of my dads church, sis ruth burns, but my little brother and i knew her as 'granny burns!'

granny burns passed yesterday.

yes, she was a faithful member. yes, she was an involved and influential member. yes, she was a supporter of my father and the ministry but i remember granny burns for personal reasons above all else.

granny burns was the grandmother i never had. both of my maternal grandmothers passed away before i had the opportunity to know them.

we loved us some granny burns!

granny burns lived on the street over from us when we lived in fifth ward. we would play on her porch! we would run around her house! granny burns could burn! she was a master in the kitchen, old school style!

our family had a 'tradition' with granny burns growing up. every new years day, between dad preaching at the prayer bowl at pleasant grove missionary baptist church (which was an all day thing!) we would go over to granny burns house, to sit, talk, share, fellowship, cook and eat! alan and i would play till our hearts delight. watch cartoons in her back room. play checkers in the front room, play on her front porch, or just sit and listen to the adult conversations going on in the living room.

these were days of extended family, not just blood family but spiritual family. no iphones, no sidekicks, no wii's, no xboxs or playstations. these were times of fun that required human interaction and presented family fellowship.

thats why i remember granny burns voice and smile. i remember her kind and gentle spirit. i do not remember her ever raising her voice, but she was firm when need be. she was even gentle when being strong.

i remember her cooking. i remember not being tall enough to look up and see what she was doing on the stove! i remember the big black cast iron skillet that she cooked the best ever hot water cornbread (which she took time out to teach me how to cook!). i remember the big silver pot that held the greens (and the 'potlicker' that came from them!). ii remember the sound of the grease crackling when she put in the chicken wings to fry. i can see her now standing there, with her apron on, smiling at me, as she cooked away on the hot stove.

i remember the smell of the house. i remember the plastic strips on the floor and on the chairs and couch in the living room. i remember the tv with the knob and antenna!...and out of all of this, i remember the feeling of love in the house and in everything that was done and said.

i remember how we would run around in the house. i remember how we would watch cartoons on the television with the knob and antennae in the back room. i remember we would play checkers in the front room. i remember we would sit and listen to the adults conversate in the living room (oh, did i say this already? lol! only because this means so much to me now)...i remember always being excited to go and spend time at granny burns house.

i remember her touch. she had a way of calming and soothing my spirit whenever i had asthma troubles, with just a back rub and a glass of water. granny burns had a nurturing spirit. she would talk to us. she would listen to us. she would interact with us. she would engage us. she would let us be children and push us to be men.

mount corinth and for sure vacation bible school is going to miss her. fifth ward is going to miss her. the patterson family is going to miss her. i am going to miss her. correction, i already miss her but her life is 'indelibly imprinted' in mine.

i wonder, as i reminisce about granny burns, who is the person, or the people, who have made an 'indelible imprint' in your life? how do you remember them? what kind of impact have they made in your life? who are you and what are you doing as a result?

whose life are you making an 'indelible imprint' in?

who will remember you like this, after you are gone on?

what kind of 'indelible imprint' are you making in someone elses life?