Naked In The Street!

When you are a kid, there are occasions when you feel time stand still as you learn a powerful lesson about life. I might be exaggerating about time standing still but I will tell you about a profound moment in my life when the words I love you became more than just words.

I was nine years old. I was impressionable and still unsure about who I was or what my beliefs were. Mostly, I was all about playing, specifically anything outdoors. I was a Tomboy. I still am, well sorta. Let’s just say during our camping trip last weekend, my daughter and I were the only maniacs to be up at 6:15 a.m. to go fishing.

Side note: We were the only females on the lakeshore and we caught more than the men standing around us. They were quite perturbed and made a point of asking us what bait we were using. (hee hee, I loved it) I digress, sorry.

To my nine-year-old thinking my grandparents were better than Santa Claus. They mailed gifts to us for no reason or for any reason. If it was my sister’s birthday, my brother and I also received a gift. I remember valentines and money but mostly I remember the candy breaks.

We would visit Grandma and Papa every summer. Papa would gather us up and drive to the nearest candy store. He ordered three brown bags from the clerk, handed them to his astonished grandchildren, then command, “Fill ‘em up!”

We did.

These are great memories, each a treasure written on my heart. But there is something I cherish even more than the candy breaks and valentines or even spending time together. It is a simple statement spoken to me by my Grandma.

I cannot recall all of the details of the scene. I do remember sitting at a table with Grandma and we were talking. She looked directly at me with expression and said in a purposeful voice, “I love you so much that I would run into the street naked to save you.”

I believed her. I was appalled. Thinking about my grandma naked in the street was mortifying. Okay, I was nine and being naked in front of anyone at that age was inconceivable and certainly terrifying. My brain couldn’t handle the thought of an old woman, naked and running in the street.

I know I was stunned by this statement and unable to reply. I hope I smiled but I don’t recall my immediate reaction. What I do recall is the impact of this statement upon my life. I felt loved and it has remained with me every day. At that moment an unbreakable and unique bond was born between Grandma and me.

I hear the words, I love you, so often about everything under the sun. I love my car. I love my hair. I love my God. I love my husband. I love ice cream.

When I say I love you to a person I want them to “hear” me.

Not long ago I said to my eleven-year-old daughter, “I love you so much that I would run into the street naked to save you.” She was appalled. Praise God, she heard me!

Who do you need to run into the street naked to save? I hope you say it today.

This is my Grandma’s favorite scripture. I read it to her in the hospital one afternoon a few months before she passed:

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

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