Gramaw's House - Just Stopping By

One of my favorite places in memory is on York Road, Sparks, Maryland - Gramaw’s house. I lived there for several years growing up. It was ground zero for my extended family. Every day someone stopped by to check up on Gramaw. When my family moved out of her house, we also stopped by at least once a week.

As I grew, I continued to stop by Gramaw’s. When I was able to drive, I drove by her house almost daily. Even when I did not stop in, I wanted to just see it again. It was a secure, safe, and warm place. Her house was always open (If it wasn’t, I knew where she hid the key. Of course, everyone else did too.). I would go in and she would fill me in on the rest of the family. By the time I left I knew which one of my uncles had stopped by and for how long. I knew where the other grandchildren were, and I would also catch up on the latest church news. She never talked negative about the church although she would occasionally throw in, “I don’t know what these young people are thinking nowadays.” (Boy, even writing this I can hear her voice saying it.)


She would always have what most grandmothers have – food. No matter what time of the day it was, she would always fix me something to eat and I rarely refused. I would eat and then go in the living room and sit on the couch to watch one of the three channels her television received and just relax. It was peaceful at Grandmaw’s. Life came to a halt there. When I wanted to get away from for a while or think things through, I ended up there at the barn or walking around her property. It was the place I went when I needed peace, something consistent, something sure. I knew what to expect. I knew her love never wavered and I knew she would always feed me. She is the most faithful woman I have ever known.

She is not there anymore. At age 83 she left this life to be with her Lord and with my grandfather that she loved so dearly, Garfield. The greatest honor in my life was to preach at her funeral. Faithfulness was the theme of the day.

Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee..."

Being “stayed” on God is like going to my Grandmaw’s house. If you are looking for peace, you need to stop and be with Him. You do not have to worry about being an inconvenience to God. There is always room for one more. In fact, He is looking for you to come to His house. He wants you to recline in His presence no matter where you came from that day.

He is faithful. He is the one constant in a troubled society, and if you will take the time to listen to Him, He will speak to you about our your life and the lives of others.

And... He will feed you.