Grandma

Here is an experience my cousin Briahna sent me about our Grandma--

I can think of countless instances in my lifetime that someone else's goodness has touched my life in memorable and profound ways, but one person and experience comes to mind very vividly.  My Grandma, Zoe Christensen, was one of those individuals who had charity written all over her.  Her kindness, generosity and devotion to helping others during her life here on Earth impacted numerous people.  When I was about 15 years old, my Dad suffered from a severe neck injury that immediately took him from treating 60+ chiropractic patients a day to being a chiropractic patient himself.  In order to receive the treatment he needed, my family moved to Southern Texas for the summer while I stayed back with my Grandma and Grandpa to participate in the community theatre production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  It was in those couple of months that I lived with my grandparents that I more fully came to realize the goodness that made up my dear Grandma.  I learned so much from simply observing her everyday acts of selfless kindness and quiet charity.  Daily I would see her doing something good to help and show love to someone else.  Whether it was cooking a meal and delivering it to a family in need, helping someone clean their house, visiting her "dear friends" who were stuck at home or in a hospital due illness, organizing church events to benefit the sisters in our church congregation, or simply making her home a bit of heaven on Earth while caring for Grandpa and I, Grandma was always in full service mode.  She arose early and immediately got to work.  She had a purpose everyday -- an unvoiced goal -- to reach out to someone that day and do a good deed... not for self-promoting or egotistical reasons, but because she knew that that is what Christ would do.  I learned so much from her that summer, and throughout the remainder of her life.  I learned that there is more to life than just being busy doing “stuff”.  Life is the most rewarding when your time is filled with charitable acts, a selfless mind set, the accompaniment of the Holy Ghost and a fearless determination to dig in and work hard.  I like to think that amongst the many wonderful things my Grandma represented and did in her lifetime, the motto "Roll up your sleeves and do good deeds!" applies to her most perfectly.  I hope to someday emulate my wonderful Grandma and set aside my own agenda so that I can make someone else's burden lighter by reaching out to love and help them each day.  I pray that the legacy of hard work, Christ-like charity, unconditional love, patient tolerance, selfless generosity and unwavering devotion that my Grandma left behind can be carried on by me and my family.  I know that a person like my Grandma can truly change the lives of others by simply doing and choosing good.  I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven for blessing me with such a wonderful Grandma who touched my life, and look forward to my reunion with her in Heaven when I can thank her for setting such a beautiful example.

 

- Briahna Perkins