Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God… He will come…” (Isaiah 35:4)
My grandmother Gaia turned 80 this year. Gaia and I had only gotten closer as I’d grown up. Her honesty about her upbringing, in a family that didn’t respect a woman’s right to self-expression, helped me not only understand her better but also appreciate the barriers the women of her generation had to overcome.
So there was no way I was going to miss her birthday. I flew from Texas to New Jersey, and drove to Gaia’s house with my parents. I greeted her, wished her a happy birthday and milled around the party, eating hors d’oeuvres and meeting her very best friends in the world.
Then, Gaia did an amazing thing. After everyone arrived, she had all of us gather in the living room. “I am so grateful that you are all here,” Gaia said, “and I want to tell each one of you how much I love you.” Several of her friends, more comfortable acknowledging others than being acknowledged, protested that it was her birthday, but Gaia was undeterred. She spent the next 45 minutes publicly thanking every person at the party, highlighting their many good deeds. She acknowledged their work as therapists, social workers and volunteers; as helpers of the blind, the dying, the elderly and sometimes just regular people who needed comfort. She did this with a face full of life and God’s love.
I was inspired. She was showing a strength she had hinted at before but had never displayed so clearly. I was witnessing a holy transformation, from a good-hearted but frightened person to a woman with the courage to be grateful and say it out loud.
And I understood that my fears didn’t need to own my life. If my 80-year-old grandmother could be courageous, then so could I.
Thank you, Lord, for your messengers who lead us toward your way of life.
