Gumption. Not a word you hear much anymore, but one I've heard all my life--forever being told I needed more of it. My grandmother Cummins probably informed me of my lack of gumption the most, but I heard it a lot from my mom and dad, too.
I intended to write about a few instances where having a little gumption would have served me well, but then I started to think about my grandmother’s abundant amount of gumption (synonyms include backbone and pluck), and took a trip down memory lane instead.
My grandmother was fiercely loyal to her family. I had to think twice about telling her someone had been even slightly unkind to me because I knew that person would be getting “a piece of her mind.” She didn't hesitate to give pieces of her mind.
When her church in Florida asked her if she'd take over their card ministry, she told them no, that writing cards wasn't her “bag.” Goodness! Her own grandchildren had never received a single card from her.
My mom was with her at the time and asked her what she'd have told them if they'd asked her, “Well then, what exactly is your ‘bag’?”
Without hesitation she answered, "I would have told them ‘my bag’ is eating and sleeping." Her answer makes me laugh to this day.
When they still lived in Michigan, she and Papa would often sing in front of the church. One of their favorites was The Old Rugged Cross. The last words say, “then He'll call me some day, to my home far away, where His glory forever I'll share.”
I don't think our country has ever been filled with so much hate, so much evil. It’s made me long all the more for the day He will take us to our Home far away.
Billy Graham said of Christians, “The moment we take our last breath on earth, we take our first breath in heaven.”
I love picturing my mom taking her first deep breath in Heaven. I'm missing her desperately, but that image comforts me.
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