“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” (Ps 46:5)

I come from a line of strong women. From my mom to her mom to my dad’s mom, the most influential women in my life have provided strong examples of who a Christian woman should be. My dad’s mom, my Grandma Velma, would have been 97 on her birthday earlier this month if she were still with us. She had a hard life in which she married young, had two children, divorced, remarried, had four more children, lost one child, divorced again, and remarried for the final time. She worked for the railroad and moved her way up to supervisor, where she was in authority over men including my step-grandpa. For a woman of her era, she lived a life that was different than most other women. Through it all, she kept her faith in God and shared her love of the Lord with her children and grandchildren.

My grandma and I both loved to read and write. Grandma Velma came from a family of writers. Her grandparents owned a newspaper in Las Vegas, New Mexico, at the turn of the twentieth century. Grandma Velma was my first pen pal, and letters flew through the mail between us throughout my childhood. As I got older and technology improved, I continued to communicate with Grandma Velma through email. When she had problems with her computer and decided to get rid of it, we reverted back to communicating the old-fashioned way: with pen and paper.

As a child, I can still remember my dad talking to my grandma on the phone in the evenings. Occasionally, he would hand the phone to me. A shy, timid child, I would say a few words and answer a few questions before handing the phone back to my dad. I would run to my room, where I would pen a letter to tell my grandma all the things I didn’t have the words to say to her out loud.

On one memorable road trip to Nevada when I was almost fourteen, I had only one book to read for the entire trip. When we arrived, I told my grandma of my dilemma. We had hours and hours still to go, and I had no books to read – the horror! – so she took pity on me and gave me a stack of her own books.

After she retired, she stayed active through volunteer work and playing card games with friends. She volunteered at her church and her senior citizens center, and she took us to eat at the senior center one summer so that we could see her work there and meet her friends. Seeing how much she loved to volunteer and give back to her community inspired me to do the same, and now I volunteer as often as I can.

God has placed a lot of influential women in my life, and my Grandma Velma has had a direct impact on the path my life has taken. I can trace many of the things I like to do, including my occupation, to her influence. She was in my life for 31 years, and I’m so thankful for the time the Lord allowed me to have with her.

Dear Lord, thank you for the positive influence of my Grandma Velma and other strong women in my life. Thank you for the time we had together. Amen.