Grandma’s Empty Swing
Memories come and go. The sweetest memories framed with a golden frame of love. Those moments cannot be described with words but are etched deep in our hearts.
Reading Grandma’s Empty Swing, I realize memories have more than one side. The grandchildren remember Grandma as a loving, caring, playful lady, who welcomes with open arms and laughter. She remains ready for hurts with band-aids and kisses. The Mom remembers relaxing moments of sharing her children with her Mom.
The grandchildren or the parents have not experienced that deafening lack of sound as her dear ones drive away. The remembering of togetherness mends the heart of homesickness. No matter how she fills her day, her heart prays earnestly for her family.
Isaiah 46:8-9 – “Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember this, you guilty ones. Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”
Our God is God over many passing generations, and He sees, and He hears. This God has always been, He created us. His memory is beyond all understanding. He remembers everyone one of us. He knows us all and all we do and say. He understands the ‘empty swings’ of our lives and comforts us.
When we shut the door of our hearts to God, all He hears from us is silence. He remembers every praise; every awakening thought leads to knowing His great love. He smiles at the pleasure of his created ones exclaiming over every nuance of His creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and all that is in it.
The writer of Psalm 42:7-8 understood the intentional God Who Loves and forgives. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.
The clamor of our busy world shuts out the voice of God. Stopping and praising God every moment of our lives is a choice that brings joy into our hearts.
In the midst of the small joys of life, Anna Daisy often sang the Doxology – Praising God! And I ask myself, what are my memories, and am I praising our God, Who IS?
Psalms 96:1-3 – God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So, we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
I Peter 5:8-10 – Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
Long ago, Anna Daisy painted a ‘family tree’ of her children and grandchildren. This painting includes an ‘empty’ swing and a teddy bear waiting. Proverbs 8:34-35 – Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
Grandma’s Empty Swing
When summer breezes blow
My memories come and go
And swing back to and fro
Beneath the ancient elm.
My memory bell still rings
Reminding me of things
Like shouts from loaded swings
But now my sons are grown.
They live too far away
To come back home or stay
And no one swings at play
Except for the teasing wind.
But if my sons should please
Let them build memories
Through swings to hang on trees
For their own precious sons.
Anna Daisy Siemens
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