looking through me

Everyone loved Grandma. She made friends on planes and in grocery store lines. She never met a stranger.

And though I was used to non-relatives calling her “Aunt Max” or being part of holidays and family occasions, it caught me off guard when one of my friends started calling her “Grandma.”

I was fine sharing her . . . in the form of hugs at church. But to share her title, this was unsettling. Especially because my friend’s own grandmothers were active presences in her life. Why did she need a third?

But even in my selfishness, I knew it meant something amazing. I knew it meant this woman who loved me was so generous in her love she had enough to reach beyond our family and pull in others. Not because they were lacking in family, but because there’s always room for more family to speak words of truth and encouragement.

And as junior high students was there anything my friend and I needed more than a grandma or three who were in our corner?

This post is part of the 31 Days: Family series. Read the beginning, and see a full index of posts, here.