On July 8, 2004, my grandmother Verna gave to me the book, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People.

On the inside cover, she wrote,

To Sarah Kay Jewison on the day you had your tonsils out. May your future health be great from this day forward. Love and God bless, Grandma Minges.

The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People

The book, to this day, sits on my office desk. Because I see it daily, I think about my grandma daily, and when I am scared about my health or the future of it, I read a page or two from it to shift perspective.

This past weekend, I have been afraid because something has caused my mouth to go absolutely crazy. That topic is for another day, but I have been down because I am scared.

Grandma

I crawled into bed last night around 9pm. The plan was to read for a few minutes, then fall asleep. While I was reading, my mother sent me a text,

Grandma entered heaven at 10:45pm. Thanks be to God for her life on earth and now for her new life.

Silently, a solitary tear fell down my face.

We all knew this was coming within the week, but it certainly never makes it any easier.

I woke up this morning, and like a practice I still maintain from time-to-time with my Bible, I opened up the book my grandma had given me. It opened to page 81, “lesson” 42 – Try to think less about the people and things that bother you.

There are an infinite number of things you could spend your time thinking about, but many of us concentrate great attention on those things that we find most upsetting. Don’t ignore what bothers you, but don’t focus on it to the exclusion of the things you enjoy.

Silently, another solitary tear fell down my face.

I do believe that this is the heart of who my grandmother was. I swear, she always had a smile on her face, believed and focused on the best.

My grandmother would have never wanted me dwelling on things in the way that I do.

Simply Happy

Last Thursday, grandma Verna turned 90. I fully believe that she knew the simple secrets of happy people. I saw it over-and-over-and-over again while growing up.

Today my heart is sad for my mom and her sisters who said goodbye to their mother. Simultaneously, my heart feels at peace knowing that, like my mother said, she entered heaven.

Grandma Verna love, love, loved the Lord. In fact, she signed every single card and letter to us, “Jesus loves you, so do I.”

Because this is my space, my journey, and my life, if I died tomorrow, I would want my children to have these words and thoughts about my grandmother. I’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Xox,
SKH