Hugs for Grandma: Stories, Sayings, and Scriptures to Encourage and Inspire (Hugs Series) - Hardcover

Chrys Howard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582291543 ISBN 13: 9781582291543

Publisher: Howard Publishing, 2000

Synopsis

HUGS FOR GRANDMA someone you know needs a hug today... ...it may even be you! Grandmas are those special women who fill lives with love, affection, understanding, and definitely more than their share of warm hugs. If you need a shoulder to cry on, a hand of comfort, or someone to share a lighter moment, Grandma is always there. Whether she's called Grandma, Memaw, Mamaw, Nana, Granny, or something else entirely, she is a shaper and preserver of memories, a builder and protector of dreams. In the pages of this beautiful book, Chyrs Howard shares heartwarming stories of grandmother's and their invaluable impact on their grandchildren along with inspirational messages that speak directly to the heart of Grandma. Personalized Scriptures by LeAnn Weiss express God's love in refreshingly personal language, and short, uplifting quotes are sure to encourage and bless. What better way to show Grandma how much you love her than with this beautiful book. Give her a Hug today!

About this title

About the Author:

Chrys Howard is the mother of Korie Robertson, star of the A&E® hit TV show Duck Dynasty®. She was a senior editor and creative director for Simon & Schuster. She has edited and cowritten more than 100 books and is the author of nine books with more than 1,000,000 copies in print in six languages. She received a Silver Angel Award from the Hollywood based Excellence in Media organization, the J. C. Penney Golden Rule Award, and has been named among the Who's Who of American Teachers. Chrys Howard lives in West Monroe, Louisiana, with her husband, John. They have three grown children and eleven grandchildren.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Just when a mother thinks her work is done, she becomes a grandmother.

-- Caroline Brownlow

An Answered Prayer

    At some point in Stacy's life, she began dreaming of becoming a mother. She couldn't really remember when it began or what caused the desire to be so great. She suspected that it was because she was an only child and there weren't many "available" babies for her to play with. Her mother had said she was a "natural nurturer," and taking care of others came easily to her. 

Sometimes her mother had wished Stacy weren't so caring. Cats and dogs and little pink pigs all made their way into Stacy's heart. And because Stacy was an only child with no hope for siblings, her mom generally said yes to every animal she wanted. Although she wanted to draw the line after she found Stacy bathing the pig in her bathtub, she didn't. Friends called their house a "zoo for a day."

    But being a mother was what Stacy wanted most in her life. She had longed to feel the soft, tender touch of her own baby's hand, to change diapers and make bottles. Her friends used to say, "Stacy, get a life. You don't want to do that stuff until you have to!" They didn't understand. Stacy really thought she was ready. Even her mother didn't understand. She and her mother had always had a close relationship until that terrible day. 

Stacy had tried to keep it a secret. Young girls just didn't have babies out of wedlock during the sixties. Well, of course, they did. But no one knew it. Everything was kept quiet. Girls were suddenly sent off to visit relatives in California or sent away to "summer camp." Even if someone suspected the truth, no one talked about it. Although it is just as wrong to have sex outside of marriage today as it was in the sixties, people today seem more understanding and supportive of the choices a young girl might make. In the sixties, it was out of the question to have a baby and not be married. Raising a child alone was rarely considered.

    "Stacy, this decision is for your good, sweetheart. You're only sixteen. You have your whole life ahead of you." Her mother said those words through tears and sobs so violent that Stacy was afraid her mother would never stop. "You can't take care of a baby. You have no job, no education. What would you do?" And her mom just kept quoting a scripture in Proverbs about trusting God. At the time, Stacy wasn't sure who to trust. The advice she kept hearing wasn't what she wanted to hear.

    But Stacy really had no choice. It was the late sixties, and even though the world was in a sexual revolution, her parents were not. And neither was the rest of her family. There was nothing to do except put the baby up for adoption. 

    As Stacy grew up and older, she eventually came to terms with her mother's lack of ability to make things better. But at the time, she couldn't understand her mother. This woman had always "fixed" everything for her, but she couldn't fix this. 

    The day Stacy signed the adoption papers was the saddest day of her life. Her mother had to hold her hand to steady it so she could get her signature on the appropriate line. Her eyes were so heavy and so tired from crying she could barely see what she was writing. She had prayed that it was only a bad dream and that she would soon wake up. 

    But it wasn't a dream. How could one night cause such pain? How could I have been so foolish? I thought Jeff truly loved me and would always be there for me! Stacy learned a valuable lesson in one night: Appearances can be deceiving.

    So much has happened since that day, Stacy thought. But Stacy was as nervous today as she had been thirty-two years ago. Only this time, it was a "happy" nervous. She was on her way to meet her baby girl. She knew she wasn't a baby anymore, but she couldn't help but think of her that way -- she had no other memories of her. She hoped new memories would soon be made.

When the phone rang exactly three weeks, one day, and six hours ago, Stacy knew the missing piece of her "life puzzle" was being nudged into place. Her life puzzle had been almost perfect; she would never deny that. Her husband, Kevin, had loved and supported her for twenty-eight years. She had worked for many years in local Christian ministries, and in the past ten years, she had spoken openly about the baby girl she had given up. She had counseled countless young girls in the same situation. Well, she always hesitated to say "the same" because every situation is unique. Certainly the times have changed, and young women have more options today. But that's one reason Stacy decided to be more vocal. She never wanted abortion to be one of those options. Even though she didn't get to raise her baby, she cherished the thought that she was alive and growing and clung to the hope of their reunion. 

    Although Stacy had many happy times in her life, there was a very sad part. She and Kevin had never had a child. Her desire and dream to be a mother had never become a reality. Although she had lots of "babies," as she always referred to her kindergarten students, Stacy never again felt the touch of her own newborn -- not since March 13, 1968, when she kissed her baby girl good-bye. 

    Stacy knew she was a great teacher. Year after year parents requested her classroom for their children. And she knew she had impacted so many little lives. And she trusted God. She wasn't going to be bitter. But there were days, she had to admit, when she wanted to know why. Why couldn't I have another baby? 

    Road construction for the next four miles. Don't they realize I've got a baby to meet! Of course, they don't! Life just keeps going on. I'm seeing my baby for the first time in thirty-two years, and the road still has to be fixed! And bills must be paid, yards must be mowed, and a million other significantly insignificant things have to happen. But nothing will come between my child and me...this time. 

    Stacy saw a small, neat, white frame house. The yard had been freshly mowed, and the garden was full of new petunias -- all waiting to welcome company. Flowing softly in the breeze were pink balloons that Stacy later discovered numbered thirty-two -- one for each year Stacy and her baby had been separated. She pulled into the driveway, turned off the key, put the car in park, and automatically began praying. Dear God, thank you for this day. Bless us and grant us peace as we begin this new relationship. 

    As her eyes opened, so did the door of the house. Out stepped Jenna -- the most beautiful young woman she had ever seen. Trembling, Stacy managed to get out of the car. It was an experience she knew she would hardly be able to describe to her husband. He had elected to stay at home so her emotions could be hers alone. With every part of her body, she felt as she had felt when she gave birth to this little girl. Not the pain part -- just the love part. How she had wanted her! How she had cried when she knew she couldn't keep her. How she had struggled each year just to get through March 13, knowing her child was blowing out candles and opening presents, and she would never see her do those things.

    The reunion was going perfectly -- pictures had been exchanged, and hugs had been given until their arms hurt. Stacy was realistic and knew that some tough times would come. Questions must be asked, and answers must be given. But for today, so far, everything was perfect. And the best part was meeting Micah and Meagen, her grandchildren. She was a grandmother! 

    When Jenna had told her over the phone that she had grandchildren, a new set of tears began to flow. Finally a baby to cuddle! Actually, Jenna had told Stacy that her children were the reason she had tracked Stacy down. Jenna's adoptive mother had died of ovarian cancer three years earlier, and Jenna longed for her children to have the love of a grandmother. But truth be known, Jenna also longed for the love of a mother. Someone to share pictures with and pack a suitcase for and have lunch with. Someone to share her life with. Finding her birth mother seemed the perfect solution.

    Stacy couldn't have been happier when Jenna finally said the words Stacy had waited so long to hear: "Can I call you Mama?" 

"Yes," came Stacy's quick reply. "I've waited so long to hear you say that word!" Jenna picked up Micah, who had just turned two. Meagen, only six months old, had already snuggled up to her new grandmother. 

"Micah, I want you to know that this is my mama, and that she is your grandmother -- yours and Meagen's," Stacy said softly.

Micah's two-year-old brain went to work, and he quickly responded: "If she's your mama, then she's my two-mama!" 

    Jenna laughed and explained, "Ever since I had Meagen, I've said so many times how I have two babies. Now he thinks he's met another mama. We can work on another grandmother name if you want us to."

"Of course not! It's perfect. As a matter of fact, I can't wait to share this with my friends."

 After all these years of waiting to be a mama, Stacy was delighted to be someone's "two-mama." All of her friends who were now grandparents had spent hours deciding what they wanted their grandchildren to call them, and this little guy had figured out Stacy's name in one minute. Stacy had never heard it used before. She knew her friends would be jealous of such a special name. "I wonder if it's legal to copyright a name?" she joked to Jenna. 

    Appearances certainly can be deceiving, Stacy thought, as she drove away from the little white house with thirty-two pink balloons. I began this day as Stacy -- no children, but now I'm Stacy -- Jenna's mama and Meagen and Micah's two-mama. What a double blessing! 

"Trust in the Lord with ...

About this edition

• Publisher: Howard Publishing
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1582291543
• ISBN 13: 9781582291543
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128