My dear friend Linda Moses is Grateful for the Letter “G”!

Linda is our guest blogger today!
This is her first time being “Published!”
Let’s let her tell the story of the power of the letter “G”…

 

Oh, G, I Love You!

“Grandma, what is your very favorite letter of the alphabet?” Before I could utter a word, he blurted out.  “Mine is M. Do you know why?” Well Miles, I am pretty sure it’s because your name begins with M.” I smiled. Of course, your Mother, Father, Sister, and your last name all begin with M too.”  We smiled at each other because I often get my tongue tangled with M’s and then everyone says, “Oh Grandma.”

Miles’s inquiry about my favorite letter didn’t continue. A 6-year old’s attention jumps around.  But it made me think.  Did I have a favorite? Good grief, how would I choose. A writer turns all letters into words to paint pictures of beauty, sorrow, mystery and love. I continued to ponder.

After much thought I discovered my favorite letter is G.  Reviewing my life’s history, I realized a G is always close by.  During football season you see many capital Gs in my home. Who lives in Wisconsin for 20 plus years and doesn’t become a Green Bay Packer fan?  And their colors are Green and Gold.  There is that G again.  My sport’s G has been a lot of fun over the years, creating celebrations that included Golden beer ensuring my laughter even when the game is lost.

My husband of 50 years, Glen, has been a constant G in my life.  Through all the trials that go with any long-term relationship, my G has never wavered.  He’s loved me fully without judgment. Glen my trusted rock, has encouraged all my dreams.

The decision to leave Wisconsin after 21 years and move to Las Vegas was optional and totally mine.  Everyone in beautiful Green Wisconsin, there’s that G again, could not fathom I would leave the city I loved. But move we did, clear across the country.  Glen’s reaction was, “I will follow you anywhere.”

To start over in a new city at age 50 was a challenge.  To be remembered I introduced myself and stated, “Yes my last name is Moses. I don’t paint, and I’m not a Grandma, but I wanna be.”  And it was true.  I realized my odds weren’t Good, with only one son. Growing up it was difficult to picture Matt, this rather rebellious kid, a family man.  He didn’t have a lot of goals save for one.  I’d ask him from the time he was little, “What do you want to be when you Grow up?”  His answer, “A Daddy.”

“And now he is a Daddy. And a fine one that I am proud of. He gave me the gift of a most precious G.  It starts the name Grandma. At age 62 that became me, Grandma Moses.  And I revel in it! I am so Grateful to be an active Grandma in their lives.  They share their school activities, their joys and woes. They listen to my stories about life and their family history. I watch them grow and my heart swells with pride. Grandchildren are why I want to live to 100 years old!

The word Gratefulness is often used in self-help books to defy stress. Focus on that which is Good in your life and you will achieve peace and happiness.  It is a G word I began learning at age 18.  I didn’t go to college and party like most kids my age.  I went to Nursing School which required a lot of hands-on training.  I saw birth and death.  I saw disease ravaged bodies.  I saw the results of self-abuse, mental illness and childhood illness firsthand. I became Grateful for my personal health and well-being. And being Grateful, I didn’t do drugs or alcohol to excess. Fast cars represented mangled bodies in my world. I can’t describe my devastation when 4-year-old Timmy died from leukemia. Life’s harsh lessons made me Grateful.

And yes, I am Grateful for my healthy anonymous Sperm Donor. My half-sister has experienced major health issues.  I have not. My mother’s Grit to fight for artificial insemination in its infancy is the reason I am here and Grateful.

Which brings me to my last but highest treasured G.

My God.

My knowledge about God was not encouraged as a small child. I was finally baptized at age 12 because I wanted it.  With my future husband we chose the right church for us.  Though I fell away from church life many times, I always sought solace in the Lord.  Sitting alone in my hospital’s chapel, gave me comfort in times of indecision and anxiety.

As my faith has grown, I see clearly God’s hand in my life through the years. He made sure Glen pursued me in high school despite my rebuffs.  God knew he was right for me before I did. God found us jobs in Wisconsin instead of Ohio where family pressures might have destroyed us. The fact I didn’t contract Tuberculosis or HIV from two accidental needle sticks in my nursing career was all God.

He inspired the risk to move to Las Vegas without jobs, leaving everything familiar behind. It was harder than I imagined but it gave me a precious 1 ½ years to be close to my Father.

God Guided me to Las Vegas.

His will is the best. God directed the times I didn’t get the job I wanted.  He put supportive friends in my path when I needed them most. Some were only temporary but it was all for the best.  God’s timing made sure I was at my friend’s bedside when he needed me in his last hours on earth. God made sure my cousin from Chicago was with me when my Father passed.  Her trip was planned well in advance and God knew exactly when I would need her.

So, there are all my G’s.

And I’ll add one more G for the word Good.
Because God is Good,
every time,
all the time,
and for Him

and all my G’s…

I am Grateful.

Linda Moses
(Packer Backer and proud member of Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Las Vegas, NV – www.mviewpc.org)

 

Thank you Linda!
We are Grateful for you!

Laugh often and Fear not!
David!