One hundred years ago today one of my favorite people was born. My Grandma. No matter how many years I live, by the time I get to the end of my life, she will remain one of my great loves.
How I would love to drive through the country with her, listening to her exclaim how beautiful the leaves are. Or the dappled sunlight. Or the bluebird. 
How I would love to be with her in an antique store and watch her pick up a piece of pottery and, holding it in her hand, comment on how it feels so good. 
I work out most things through writing. Below are some notes I took after she passed.
*****
If you are here today, you are blessed and lucky. If you are
here today, you know that you are loved. No matter who she was to you, no
matter what you called her, Elizabeth Royal loved you. That is the kind of
person she was. The heart she had was full of love and light and life. She
cultivated beauty. She appreciated sport and history and art and poetry. A poem
she had committed to memory, “The Coin” by Sara Teasdale, was one of her
favorites.
Into my heart’s treasury
I slipped a coin
That time cannot take
Nor a thief purloin, --
Oh better that the minting
of a gold-crowned king
Is the safe kept memory
of a lovely thing.
How blessed and lucky we all are to have such a beautiful
collection of memories, gatherings of joy and light that she left with us. How
blessed and lucky we are to have had her love. She collected the memories we
gave her as well, as Elizabeth Royal was a great curator. She took the time to
notice details, colors and textures. She found beauty everywhere. An antique
quilt. A country sunset. The autumn leaves. Hand-blown glass. She had extensive
collections of everything from Hummels to Jeff Gordon racecars to D.X. Gordy
pottery. Her most valued collection though is that of which you are a part, her
collection of friends and family whom she prized and loved. She loved beauty.
She loved you.
If you are here today, you have been blessed. You are lucky.
As you have been loved by God through His beautiful creation, Elizabeth Royal.
If you are here today, you are blessed and lucky. If you are
here today, you know that you are loved. No matter who she was to you, no
matter what you called her, Elizabeth Royal loved you. That is the kind of
person she was. The heart she had was full of love and light and life. When you
left her, you knew she believed in you, she loved you as you were, and she
supported you in your every endeavor. She always had a kind word for anyone she
came across; nothing brought her more joy than making someone laugh. “Let us
love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves knows God.” Elizabeth
Royal’s life is an example each of us can draw from as we strive to live a life
of love.
Saint Teresa of Avila wrote “You are Christ’s hands”;
Elizabeth Royal believed it and lived it.
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which is to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world;
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”
Elizabeth Royal brought joy to everyone who knew her. With
her hands and feet and sweet spirit, she shared the love of God with each of us.
She loved to ride out to Pike County to get peaches every June. She’d get
several bushels, and upon returning home, would immediately commence to
divvying up the peaches into brown paper sacks that she could then take to her
friends—shut-ins she called some, elderly she called others, even when she
herself was approaching 90. She spent much of her time sending out greeting
cards and delivering peaches or tomatoes and bringing kindness to people
around her.
Though she never stood much above five feet, Elizabeth Royal
ran hurdles in high school. She loved watching all types of sports. She spent
many years tuned into every Braves game. She was NASCAR’s biggest fan. She also
loved history and art and poetry. A poem she had committed to memory, “The
Coin” by Sara Teasdale, was one of her favorites.
Into my heart’s treasury
I slipped a coin
That time cannot take
Nor a thief purloin, --
Oh better that the minting
of a gold-crowned king
Is the safe kept memory
of a lovely thing.
How blessed and lucky we all are to have such a beautiful
collection of memories, gatherings of joy and light that she left us with. How
blessed and lucky we are to have had her love. She collected the coins we gave
her as well, as our Tin Lizzie was a great curator. She loved beautiful things.
Touch was very important to her. When examining something she found
interesting, she would often say, “Ooohh, that feels so good.” She took the
time to notice beauty; she appreciated it. Country sunsets. Autumn leaves. Hand
blown glass. She had extensive collections of everything from Hummels to Jeff
Gordon racecars to D.X. Gordy pottery. Her most valued collection though is
that of which you are a part, her collection of friends and family whom she
prized and loved. She loved beauty. She loved you.
If you are here today, you have been blessed. You are lucky.
As you have been loved by God through His beautiful creation, Elizabeth Royal.
