Finding Strength
As children & grandchildren, we personally have experienced many variations of how our parents and grandparents have grown old. I’m sure you have a similar list.
Grandparents who died before we knew them.
Grandparents who had an influence on us when we were kids, but then passed away.
Living in the same household with a grandparent in their nineties.
A parent who passed away in their prime.
Parents working through a later in life transition to a retirement community
And the one we have found the hardest, walking with a parent experiencing a debilitating disease.
We have lived all of these, but this is a sad story and there is no easy way to tell it.
Mary is my mother-in-law. Her grandmother lived until she was 99, her mother until 97. Knowing those women were vibrant well into their nineties, we thought we had several years with my mother-in-law. We were wrong. Time was not on our side.
Mary started declining several years ago. The stories she used to share with us were silenced when she grew unable to verbally communicate. We watched her suffer and we watched her great strength through all of it. One of her earmarked scripture verses was Psalm 73:26 & 28 NIV.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”
She had so much faith and wisdom to offer us through her lived experiences. Now there are so many stories that are lost and so much family history we’ll never know, because we failed to record them.
Before her decline, Mary had always been a particular woman with a set of rules and expectations for those around her. It’s one of the things that made her a great Kindergarten teacher. Like many teachers, her students didn’t just learn academics, but they learned character and life lessons. They are different today because she taught them what it looks like to be respectful and kind.
Gibby was one of Mary’s students. And although the stories I’ve heard tell me he was quite a handful, he’s also the same man that walked us through Mary’s recent burial and helped us honor her last wishes. He was both respectful and kind. At Parthemore Funeral Home & Cremation Services, he is following his own family’s tradition. His father and grandfather showed this same respect and kindness to Mary when she lost her husband, Bud, twenty years ago.
Our short time with Bryce’s parents is just one of the many reasons we want to help you save your family history before it’s too late. I want your children and grandchildren to know and celebrate their family stories. We lost ours and it’s hard.
I want your children to have a visual reminder of their history and find security in their family identity, don’t you?
Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,
Jody Flurie
Jody Flurie is the Founder and Owner of Red Dirt Legacy Co. where family legacy stories are celebrated through each Little Legacy Film Series - a series of short videos that can be easily shared to keep children and grandparents connected by what matters most for each family.
Jody believes all kids, young and old, need to understand where they came from and why it matters. Everyday, she works hard to instill this in her family because it’s only through understanding who we are that we can be fully ourselves and make a true indelible mark on the world.
If you want the same thing that Jody wants for her family, visit reddirtlegacyco.com to find out how your family can celebrate the wisdom, love, and legacy of an earlier generation. If we don’t step up to bring hope to our families, who will?