Ladora McElrath wore many hats. She had a different title for different people. For one, she was wife. For a few, she was proud mother (7 children). For many, she was grandmother (27 grandkids). And some more she was great grandmother (20 great grandkids). And for others, she was a kind friend. To me she was grandmother, so my perspective of her comes from that lens. And when I think of my grandma, I think of three things.
Pets, Family and Faith.
When I was a kid, I remember her always being so proud of her pets. I would go over to her house, and not just her dogs would show off tricks, but her cats too. I remember her cats would always be sitting on grandpa’s chair, all sprawled out on their backs. You always had to watch where you sat because one of those cats was always lying around on the chair or couch. In fact, my Aunt Darla was just showing me a photo album, and out of 15 pictures, nine of them were her of one her old cats. One of them was even watching TV. I just know that she’s showing off these pets to Jesus in heaven. My Uncle Norris commented that she probably would have been just as happy with a duck’s nest on her casket instead of this flower spread. She loved her pets.
But not as much as she loved her family. She never talked about this directly to me, but you could just sense how much she loved grandpa. Growing up I never really saw them show much affection to each other except for once. I was 13 or 14, and grandpa and I were going to go down to Albert Lea to help Kelly with something. I remember waiting around for grandpa. He and grandma were arguing, nothing serious. In fact it was a kind of their normal way of interacting. Then right before we were about to leave, she said to him, “Well, aren’t you going to give me a kiss before you leave.” I was petrified. I had never seen them do that. I didn’t think they ever did that. The memory is still burned into my mind.
She was also always so proud of her kids. Sure there were things that some kids or grandkids would be doing that she didn’t necessarily agree with, but her love for her family never wavered. Since our family is so spread out and there’s so many of us, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on in each of our lives. But she was sort of a glue that held us together. I loved going to her and finding out that this cousin just had a baby or this cousin just got married or this person just moved here or there.
And she would do anything for her family. There are countless stories of years gone by when she would work all sorts of jobs at all sorts of hours to help provide for the family. In the years before women really started to join the workforce, she was there. She used to liken the mind to files. She would say that Grandpa’s mind had one file: cars. But she had all sorts of files because she had worked in so many different settings.
Though, more than just for physical needs, she was deeply moved by the spiritual needs of her family. She was a person of faith. Of deep held faith. Her greatest love was for Christ. It broke her heart to see people far away from faith. She wanted people to experience that same knowledge and love of Christ. This faith that had carried her through the long years, this faith that had redeemed her and shown her grace, it was a faith that she desperately wanted to pass on to anyone she knew. I had to laugh when reading my Aunt Jada’s blog. She wrote, “I remember her telling me she took one of the nurse’s aids into her bathroom and tried to help her pray through to the Holy Ghost.”
I’ve heard some relatives comment on how we knew that we could count on her praying for us. There’s no doubt in my mind that many of us have made it through some of our struggles and hardships only because of the prayer grandma was doing on our behalf. And many of us in here owe our very salvation to her. What a legacy she’s left. There are even several of her family are active in ministry and serving because of the legacy of Grandma. Think about how that translates down. Hundreds of lives being impacted because of the impression that Grandma has made on our lives.
Because of this faith, I know my grandma is in a better place today. Though, I am going to miss her incredibly, I know that today she is in a new, glorified body. One that is free from pain and illness for the first time in many, many years. Though death took her from us, I know that Jesus snatched her from death (quote from JJ Slag). I love that we can stand on the promise in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grandma, I don’t know if you can hear this. We love you. We’ll miss you. Thank you for all of your love, thank you for all that you’ve done. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for the legacy, the mark that you’ve left on all of our lives.
churches. This prediction comes from lengthy conversations with the worship pastor, Matt Schurr, from my own church. After getting to know his heart and mind, I was able to foresee the choir robes in 2009. Forget the solid, bold colors that worship directors ask their choir participants to wear. Choir robes are the answer for those singers that don’t know fashion… Hmm… a little bit of irony there…
