I Don’t Mean No Harm

I don’t mean no harm.  Five simple words.  But when my grandmother begins a sentence that way, you better brace yourself for what’s coming after.  It’s probably going to hit you right in your feelings.  Interestingly enough, she didn’t even realize that she prepped people for her bombs until Bible Study Brother and I pointed it out to her.  It was just part of her vernacular.

Most of the family calls my grandmother by her nickname, Boolie.  My great-great uncle gave her the nickname when she was a child, and it lives on to this day.  And I can’t imagine what life would be like without Boolie in it.

My grandma has always meant the world to me.  She is not your run of the mill grandma.  At least, not to me.  She is vivacious and has a zest for life that draws you in.  I love her gigantic laugh and her huge imagination.  It’s only recently that I realized how much of me is her.

How did I come to this realization?  Glad you asked.  Bible Study Brother and I were getting ready to record a podcast when grandma called my cell phone.  I asked grandma if she would consider recording a podcast with us.  In all actuality, I was just waiting for her five simple words to drop.  But she took me by surprise and readily agreed.  Listen, I come from a questioning family.  They want to know why you did it, what you had on, what it smelled like in the room, and precisely how many bus stops it is from there to your brother’s house.  Like all the questions.  And she didn’t have a single one for me.

Recording day arrived, and we jumped right into it.  Y’all she was a natural.  Of course, I’m biased, but I was blown away.  I learned so much about her that I didn’t know.  I had questioned her about various aspects of her life and knew the major parts of her story, but this was different.  We really got to the heart of who she is.

Spoiler alert- I cried.  But you can’t tell because I just let her talk.  I’m so thankful that I have a recording of her story in her own words.  It’s not a tell-all, but it told me a lot about who I am.  About strongholds in families.  About legacy.  About love.

Everyone doesn’t get a chance to sit and talk with the legends in their life.  I don’t take it lightly that she was willing to be so open about her faith journey.  The conversation was so good that we had to split it into three episodes.  Saturday her first episode drops, and you DON’T want to miss it.  Although the recording is over, we are going to keep the conversation open.  Take the time to have authentic conversations with the ones you love.  I don’t mean no harm, but time waits on no man.  #wepreach