Iyii, Mimi, Annie, Daley (3 weeks old) • 4 Generations • July 4th, 1998[/caption]
I was nervous from the start. I loved her dearly, but I had never spent the night alone with my grandmother in a hotel room. She was 86-years old, and who would have known her nightly routines? Women are funny about them, you know?
Iyii, pronounced “I~I”, was her name. I assume the beloved naming came from the fact that my oldest sister could not pronounce her last name, Ira. Iyii was a beautiful woman of southern proportion. She was a lady of first class. Although born in Maine, she spent most of her life in the South sipping sweet tea and living under moss-covered oak trees. On the outside, she was always “finished.” That’s a good southern term.
As we got ready for bed, she smiled at me and said, “Annie, I am going to take out my hearing aids, so I won’t be able to hear you.” “That’s fine Iyii,” I replied, “because when I take off my glasses, I won’t be able to see you.”
We both laughed and turned out the lights.
What was I worried about anyway? How many grandchildren get the opportunity to spend the night with their grandmother? This was a blessing just to be with her. Until . . . .
“Annie!” My heart leaped. “Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Oh Annie, I forgot to pray.”
Time was suspended as I watched my grandmother get out of her bed, kneel beside her mattress, and pray. And pray. And pray.
My fear of staying alone with her was removed and replaced with a holy snapshot into the spiritual life of my Iyii.
She knew her Shepherd, and He knew her prayers. She knew her Lord, and He called her by name. She knew that not one day could go by without going on her knees—in worship.
She was PLANTED.
How often do we zip through the day without offering the Lord our prayers? Scripture tells us in Romans 8:34 that Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us! The Message says “The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.”
God hears our prayers, why do we wait so long to lift them up?
Dear Lord, I pray today that we would lift our cares and concerns to You. Not one moment goes by that You do not see us, hear us, and encourage us. You tell us to come to You when we are weary and YOU will give us rest (Matthew 11:28). Teach us to not let one day go by without getting on our knees—in worship. Amen.
Except from PLANTED • sit, stand, and walk with Jesus
(PLANTED is a ten-week Women’s Bible Study based on Psalm 1. You order it now for personal study or for a small group. You can also purchase videos of Annie teaching each lesson.)