I think that it’s right to start this journey with one who held so much influence over my life: My grandmother, Lorrene Brown. Born in Ioina Michigan, in a house two doors down from the home she spent her entire life in. She indeed embodied a “gentle and quiet” spirit. She was constant, my rock. With her, I always knew I was loved. Her quiet way was soothing and reassuring. I cherish the memories I have of her. She knew hospitality. Her doors were never locked and all were welcome. She was always there to greet them, sitting at the table drinking her coffee. She rarely ever left her house, except near the end, she traveled the length of Michigan to Texas to see those of us who had moved further on.
As a child growing up I can not ever remember my grandma not drinking coffee. She drank coffee from the time she got up until she laid her head on her pillow at night. I often would fill her cup for her but I never once joined her, being a child and into my teen years, coffee held no appeal for me. But it was such a big part of her everyday life. I very vividly remember the colorful array of her coffee cups; orange, green and gold.
Several years ago I found two such cups at a antique store and was flooded with emotion and memories of my grandma. I purchased the cups, as a gift, for my mother, my grandma’s first born. Last Sunday my mother gave the gift back to me, but only the orange cup. The other one was intended for my sister. “Here,” she said, “Take this and have coffee with grandma, I had coffee with her this morning.”
And so . . . The next morning I sat down to have coffee with grandma for the very first time, even though she has been gone for over 30 years.
rather let it be he hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:4
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