Even if I don't win...

...I've still won.

My Friend and fellow blogger, Laura told me about an article in a recent edition of the Northeast Georgian titled "Grandmother of the Year nominations sought".  So, being that I believe I have one of the most amazing grandmothers on the planet, I thought I'd nominate her.  Below is the essay and thank you to Laura bringing this to me as well as editing my essay!

My Grandmother is the closest thing to “Jesus here on earth” that I have ever seen. She’s spent a lifetime serving and loving His people with her hands and her heart; thus leaving a Christ-centered legacy to her four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The name on her driver’s license reads Joyce Abernethy Allison, but those closest to her simply call her “Gram.”

She loves to tell the story of how she got the name “Gram”. Being the oldest grandchild, I had the unique opportunity to choose her “Grandma” name. One day in those early years I came and asked her “Grandmamma, can I call you Gram, like the Graham cracker?” She’s been Gram ever since.

Gram treats everyone like family and will feed anyone who walks through her door. Her macaroni and cheese and tomato pie leave you wanting to visit again real soon. She walks three miles a day, cheers for the Atlanta Braves and always puts God first. It’s hard to believe there will be 80 candles on her birthday cake this December- I am amazed by how she is still so actively giving to everyone around her.

The first Sunday of every month you’ll find Gram rocking a baby in the nursery at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Then on Monday, she’ll be delivering “Meals on Wheels.” Every Wednesday she’s preparing takeout meals for Bethlehem’s Family Fellowship Supper, and the fourth Monday of the month, she’s serving up food and love at the Clarkesville Soup Kitchen. So you see it’s not just her family that Gram pours her heart and service into, it’s her community too.

But it’s much more than selfless acts of service that make her such an incredible grandmother. She’s the one person that I can always count on when I’m in need- not only letting me live with her when my husband was deployed to Iraq, but again four years later with a husband and two sons in tow as we built our first house. It is her heart, her unconditional love for all people and the way she not only reads the Bible every day; she lives it. So when I recently gave birth to my first daughter, I found it only fitting to name her Ellison “Joyce.”