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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Easter (05/30/05)
My Favorite Picture

I can still see her standing in the open door, waving good-bye as she did every time I left her. Bent over from age, but always smiling. If only I had known it would be the last time, I would have said something, done something, to let her know just what a profound influence she’d had on my life. I will miss her, but I am thankful for the pictures…

The early pictures of my grandmother are in primitive black and white. They show a beautiful young girl, then a loving wife. There is a picture of a young mother, surrounded by her precious children, and one of a teacher standing beside her class of enthusiastic third graders. I never knew this person, only the person she was to become, the person who would teach me about every stage of life, because she had lived them all.

There is a picture of me as a little girl looking up at her with admiration, her calm expression giving me comfort and security. Each of us keeping secrets of magical stories and exciting games.

There is the portrait of the two of us on my wedding day. Her beaming face is as radiant as my own, supporting me like the rock that she had always been, and always would be.

Then, there is my favorite picture. It is a crystal clear representation of the two extremes of human life, a photo of my grandmother kissing the cheek of my newborn daughter. The contrast of old age and new birth is striking. The similarities are few, but if you look very closely you can see the kinship of two strong women, in very different forms.

It is Easter and I take pictures of my children dressed in their Sunday best. I struggle to make sure everyone is smiling, not a hair out of place. They are carefree and innocent, in the genesis of their lives. As I celebrate the joy of a resurrected savior, I thank God for the gift of youth, both present and eternal. You see, because of what happened that first Easter morning, my grandmother is no longer old and tired. She is young, beautiful, and free once again. She smiles brightly for the camera, surrounded by the breathtaking backdrop of paradise. What a perfect picture of the immeasurable love of our God!
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This article has been read 915 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Leslie Lamb
06/06/05
I love this! You gave me a nice look at my own grandmother. She would have loved this too!
Helga Doermer
06/07/05
Beautiful peice. A picture describing the power of pictures.
Suzanne R
06/07/05
I wondered how this piece was going to tie in with Easter, and then, there it was, so powerful! Well done.
Anthony Tophoney
06/07/05
Heartwarming and well written. I really saw these pictures through your words.
dub W
06/08/05
Wonderful images, so clearly articulated. Thank you.
Shari Armstrong 
06/09/05
Grandparents are very special blessings in our lives. Very touching piece that I can relate to.
LINDA GERMAIN 
06/10/05
This is so well done... beautiful and touching
Richard William
06/10/05
Good job, I loved immensely.
Judy Anderson
06/10/05
A touching picture and a reminder of the impact grandparents can make! Thank you.
Delores Baber
06/11/05
Your story reminds us that our age of camera's allows us to look at the changing stages of a person's life. And for many that sought out photo of 5 generations, each person in the snapshop at a different stage in their pilgrimage. I was allowed to be alone with my father when he died. As he died I told him how mother had been waiting, with their sons beside her. I let him know she would be even more beautiful than the day he married her and he more handsome. I invited him to run into her arms and she gave a deep sigh and the body beside me was empty. Easter is about life beyond the grave. It's our reason for hope. Your story was one that drew the ready into a mood to remember; to take out the family album and reflect.
Val Clark
06/11/05
Grandmothers! A wonderful slice(s) of life story shining with hope at the end, thanks for posting.