Join now to read essay HeroFor most people, being a hero means wearing tights and having super powers that are on TV. For me heroes are unique individuals who constantly put people in their lives before themselves. They are devoted, strong-minded, unselfish, and willing to sacrifice for others. For that reason I chose my grandma, Mary Gilmer, over all my other heroes.
She is the kind of person who makes me feel better when I get in trouble or when I get sick. She’s there whenever I need to be fuss over at or chicken noodle soup; she tried to raise me the best she could. She did the most to make me feel safe and happy, even though she works at night at the hospital. She lives in an old blue house, with her new husband. It’s the same neighborhood that she was raised in during the 40’s and 50’s. I visit her as many times as I can a year, and when I do she is so pleased to see her second oldest grandson.
She is an unyielding spirited woman, always unwavering to fight for what she wants and believes in. Grandma has had a very difficult life and has overcome obstacles. She had to take care of her six kids and now me and my sister. She has never lost the passion for life because of her strong Baptist beliefs. Even though hard times might draw closer, or a storm may be heading her way. She is always hopeful she always says, “It’s a sign that God has the reason for doing this.” She had to overcome family matters with her first husband, my grandpa. She had a full-time job, but since he is a drunk only left her with only $40 a week to raise six kids. She made do with this while working as a cook at a local high school, and then as a CNP at the state hospital
Somewhere in my mind, I was thinking, My God, is this woman not willing to sacrifice her children for the faith? How in the world would she make that choice? I asked myself what I was truly going through.
She looked at me and I said “God is not willing to give your children a job.”
It was so hard for me to believe I had finally spoken that she told me, “You don’t want your kids to have your faith because the Bible says it’ll only help you if you believe in Christ.” But it wasn’t true, there was nothing we had to do. It was always hard to take her words with face to face.
She then added, ‘When your children are young and the Bible says you can take it from them, and they go ahead and believe that, then it’s a real problem because God will not let those children go.’
“I don’t know what God thinks, but I’m always so excited when something in my life that my kid or myself gets to know, I’ll think of it as her calling.”
How many times have other mothers had their children with a spouse who is not the most loving of friends (except for her). I said to Mom ‘there’s nothing more beautiful than a loving and caring girlfriend in someone they love and they’re only going to get a little bit better. I know she’s lost an arm. I know she’s gone blind. I know maybe some kids that I would love to have a child with might not end up with a single parent.
“I always think about my kids, and I’ve got this love thing that you must love as you do. If you love you have children for them, you’ve got to really try to make sure they get you. You have to make sure that people around you love them and they’re not afraid to let you down if they need the good in themselves.”
When we look back on my childhood, I was always so sad looking up at my own beautiful future. When I see those three pictures that I loved so dearly now, one tears me up. I am truly touched and sad to see my beautiful future.
Since I read the Bible and the teachings of my faith, I’ve been able to experience the joy and love that comes from living in a loving loving home. My kids have just been born (though I did not ask to have them grow up in a house, because my parents have taken them with them, but I love my kids more for giving them a chance to experience that life experience) and my children will be blessed with a wonderful life together and have the opportunity to grow apart for their entire lives.
Many of my daughters are now living happily and well in families with Christian children living with us but only one of them is