This article is different from my usual “Woman to Woman” posts. It’s written in conjunction with RootsTech’s “World’s Largest Family Discovery Event,” which will be held March 6-8. Learn more about it here and at the end of this article.
But first, let me share one of my family’s most meaningful stories.
Grandma’s Faith Story & Mine
A hero here, a villain there… Families can be fascinating. One of my distant relatives signed the Declaration of Independence and another may have been an infamous con man who roamed the western United States in the late 19th century. But one of the most important people in my life – other than my parents – was my maternal grandmother, who lived next door to me for much of my childhood. It was her faith journey that I’m sharing today.
Grandma was my favorite storyteller when I was small and my confidante when I was older. Her tales of playing in the woods by her family’s white farmhouse gave way to stories more suited for the teenage girl I had become. It was a tragedy in her life that eventually propelled her faith journey forward when she was a young woman, and it touches me to this day.
A Letter about Loss & Faith
As a young woman, she wrote a letter to her pastor about the tragedy and her faith journey, and I’m sharing parts of it today. The letter’s salutation is illegible, but Grandma otherwise began the letter this way:
Will you be kind enough to read this? I’ve never wanted to tell this sacred story before. Very few people I could trust with it. I did not think they would understand, but I appreciate your sermons, your experience and the sympathy which I’m sure you have so much that I wanted to tell you about it.
One of my cousins found a copy of the letter in her father’s papers after he died. She knew I was writing a book about our family history and sent me the copy. I recognized the story almost at once. It concerned Helen.
Grandma had shared the story with me during my teens, when I was thinking about college, God and life in general. My college plans were set, at least in my mind, and I had even plotted out my life afterward. Yet, I was drifting farther and farther away from God. Grandma was the person who could help the teenage me.
Her stories and our conversations always drew me in and made me laugh or shed a few tears, discover something I had never considered, or understand my parents and sister a little better. Grandma never preached at me, but she reached me better than any preacher could.
Drifting Away from God
I was about 13 when Grandma told me the story. I was drifting away from God, faith and church and couldn’t bring myself to talk to my parents. I was 13, after all, and rejecting something that was dear to
them.
Grandma hadn’t doubted her own faith as a teenager. She didn’t lose touch with God until she was a young married woman with small children, one of whom became my mother.
In her teens, Grandma thought she was a strong Christian. She taught Sunday School, played the organ and served as youth leader in her small church. (Decades later, I became the church pianist and played for the children’s choir in the same church. And later, I too became a Sunday School teacher.)
The Loss of a Child
Grandma’s handwritten letter recalled her marriage to a lapsed Christian and the death of her first child.
When my first little daughter was two-and-a-half-years-old, she died after a long illness, Grandma wrote in the pastor. It seems that my world had gone dark. I could not find God, and Heaven was a myth. Everything seemed unreal for me.
I wondered where all my assurance had gone. I prayed constantly, if that is possible. I listened to every word of the pastor of our church, trying to get a little comfort, and talked to my neighbors until I almost drove them from me. This continued for seven months, and my grief was making a wreck of me.
Connecting with God Again
I could not imagine Grandma’s pain when she told me the story. I had not yet been a mother. Yet, my heart grieved for her, and I questioned why she was telling me the story.
The letter continued:
One night, I stayed awake for two hours praying part of the time…. Finally, I slept lightly. My little daughter came to me at sunrise. We sat on the lawn in our favorite chairs. She played among the shrubs, rocked beside me, smiled into my face often, but neither of us spoke a word.
Everything was too sacred to be marred by the human voice. All day, she stayed with me, and we were happy. Just as the sun sank from sight, I missed her. I looked behind the tree trunks, all around, but she was gone.
Someone called “Momma,” the first word that had been spoken that day. I searched frantically. She called again, “Momma.” I located the voice and looked up.
A great throng of people, mostly children, was going up and my little daughter was the last one in the throng. She called to me the third time and waved and said, “Momma, I’m in Heaven now.” Her golden hair was waving as she ran, and she disappeared in that lovely throng.
I’ve never doubted for one minute but that God sent me that message for a purpose, and Heaven has never seemed so far away again.
That has been 11 years ago, and now my husband is a Christian and member of this church and sings in the choir. I’m sure God does not give us everything we want the first time we ask Him, but He hears us.
May God help you to help others in great ways.
Generations of Shared Faith
As you’ve guessed by now, her daughter’s name was Helen… my Aunt Helen. Grandma and I talked about Helen and faith and God in the days after she told me her story. We shed a few tears, but mostly, Grandma talked about God and her faith in him, and I listened with an open heart and soul.
The faith Grandma and I shared so many years ago has enriched my life, as well as the lives of my children and grandchildren. My older daughter has always been a spiritual person, and when her young husband suddenly died, she poured her grief into a church ministry.
She participated in a nine-month training program to prepare for the ministry and now leads groups that help women and girls who are suffering because of a loss, abuse or other trauma.
My other daughter, who is disabled, shares God and Scripture with people in need in her community. Only recently she handed out blankets to homeless people. And last week, she took a homeless friend into her home one night when the outside temperature dropped to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Discovering YOUR Roots
The letter about Grandma and Helen recounts one of my family’s most treasured stories, and the upcoming RootsTech conference can help you uncover tales about your own ancestors.
Your story won’t be the same as mine, of course, but discovering your own roots may help you grow closer to the people, places and stories that matter to your family. The RootsTech conference on March 6-8 is an annual event that’s known as “the world’s largest family history conference.”
It’s open to everyone who is interested in exploring their family history, regardless of whether they’re a beginner or professional genealogist.
You’re Invited to RootsTech Online & In-person
The in-person conference will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The free online sessions and events will include expert classes, tips and inspiring stories to help you trace your family’s history.
Anyone who is interested may want to check out the free online World’s Largest Family Discovery Event or learn more about the on-demand learning library. Also learn more about the interactive online events and hear some great speakers..
Family Search, which is the world’s largest genealogy organization, is offering RootsTech. The organization’s website gives you access to billions of historical records. It also provides answers to your research questions as you build, preserve and share your family while building, preserving and share your family tree with others.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other major genealogy organizations are sponsoring RootsTech. If you’re interested in your family’s history, RootsTech is the place to go.
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