Nana the Warrior

Nana the Warrior

My grandmother, Bessie Evelyn Swofford, passed away early yesterday morning at the age of 93.

Some of you know her as Evelyn.

When I was growing up in East Atlanta, my brother Scott and I, and my cousins, Greg and Andy, called her Nana. A little later on, for a while we thought we were too big to call anyone Nana, so we called her “ELV” which was a nickname my Grandfather called her. Over time, she eventually became “Nana” again.

My Nana was a blessing from God for every one of the 19,665 days of my life that she was here with us. Today, as we celebrate Nana’s life, I thought it might be appropriate to tell a story about Nana that I remember from my childhood.

I don’t have any grandchildren but I have two sons and a mother and father. Through that, I understand that there is something special between grandparents and grandchildren. When grand kids act up, most grandmothers are willing to look the other way and are reluctant to scold their grandchildren except in extreme cases.

Nana was different….You see, Nana liked to be in control.

Unfortunately, I do too and this made things between us "interesting" at times.

At a young age I quickly learned that My Nana was not one to mess with. Nana had a backhand and an uppercut like “Smokin” Joe Frazier and she would not hesitate to use them.

Still, I knew that the only way to fully understand where the limits were with Nana was to test them. One afternoon mama and daddy left me with Nana while they went to Sears and Roebucks. This was my chance to test her tolerance threshold and the scope of Nana’s power.

I’m told that as a child I made a lot of noise. Because I knew that Nana was deaf, I believed that this was probably irrelevant. But I needed to know for sure. I waited for about 5 minutes to make sure mama and daddy was really gone and then I set out on a mission to make the mother of all noises. I hooped and hollered for about two minutes before Nana finally exploded and dragged me across the floor to a kitchen chair and told me to SIT DOWN AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Through this it appeared to me that in spite of what I had been told about Nana’s hearing, that my Nana could actually hear on some level. Still, I had to be sure. So I looked her in the eye and I boldly went where no man has ever gone before (or since that day) and I said… "MAKE ME".

She did....

To my credit, I quickly patched my wounds and pulled myself together. In spite of the overwhelming defeat that Nana delivered to me in the first round, I wasn’t about to let one setback railroad my plans to test Nana’s limits. I waited a few minutes and I began to Chirp…I sat in the chair exactly like she said and I began to chirp with an occasional caw of a crow tossed in...

"Chirp” “Chirp” “Chirp” “CAWWWWWWWWWW”  "Chirp” “Chirp” “Chirp” "Chirp” “Chirp”

On the 7th or 8th” chirp, Nana came after me like a Saturn rocket on the way to the moon.

I TOLD YOU TO BE QUIET. NOW I MEAN IT …NOT ANOTHER WORD.

Still undeterred from my quest, I stood up and looked Nana in the eye and without making a sound, my lips formed the words...

“MAKE ME”.

When I regained consciousness, I was sitting in the same kitchen chair. I don’t know if she put me there or if I somehow I managed to crawl back to the chair under my own power. All I know is that on that afternoon I discovered that not only could Nana hear on some level, but that she could also read lips.

At that point I had an important decision to make. Things were not looking good for me. But my family has always been baseball fans and true baseball fans know that you’re only out after three strikes, not two. I decided to swing for the fence.

So after a few minutes of silence, I began to buzz…softly at first…and incrementally louder until Nana finally looked at me. Bracing myself for the worst, I found myself a bit off guard by what happen next. I was approached by a kinder, gentler, Nana who laid her hand on my head and with a half chuckle she smiled and said “Please be quiet or go out in the back yard and you can make all the noise you want to”.

I really liked my Nana’s smile and I wanted to be good. I really did, but I didn’t really know if I could help myself. Finally, my heart melted and with my mouth closed tight; I turned my eyes up toward Nana’s and smiled. I looked at her that way for what must have been all of fifteen or twenty seconds when suddenly a little voice inside my head said ...

“MAKE…”.

Before I got to the “ME” part, Nana’s hand was already upside my head.

That day I learned not only that could Nana hear sounds and read lips, she was also a mind reader.

Pastor Tew called me last night to discuss today's service. Mama had told him that I had asked to take Nana’s Bible home with me for a few days. When I asked her for the Bible she handed me not one, but a sack full of Bibles. In our conversation, Pastor Tew asked me if I knew of any scriptures that was a favorite or meant a lot to Nana. I couldn’t answer that last night however I can answer that today.

The answer is ALL OF THEM.

What I found is that Nana’s Bible was more than a center piece on her coffee table or something to keep pencils from rolling around in a drawer. Nana’s Bible is a living journal of her life and her walk with God, where she took all of her pain, sorrows, stress, and worries and laid them at the feet of Jesus. Her Bible was also where she praised and glorified God for the things He has done in her life and the in the lives of the ones she loved. I was blown away when I realized that this simple girl from the farm, who married my grandfather when she was in the 8th grade, has taken the word of God, turned it upside down and inside out and marked daily readings for years on years .

She constantly prayed for every one of us, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandchild, niece, nephew. If you knew Nana then you are mentioned in Nana’s Bible.

So is Bill Clinton.

Written on the back page of a green Living Bible are the words “See my old Living Bible for more notes. I wore it out and had to get this one."

Here are a few excerpts:

Sept 28, 1996 - Ted (Nana’s Sister) died today.

June 7 1997 – Jacob (my Son) graduated from Stockbridge High School – (a true miracle)

March 11 1998 - Bobby Martin died today. (my aunt from the other side of my family)

November 20, 1996 - Sandy (daughter in law) had surgery – Betty (my mother) was sick all week and
Greg (my cousin) was burned bad on the job

March 20, 2000 – Rocky (Nana’s granddog,- also my baby brother if you ask mama) died today

May 2nd 2002 - Jacob (my son) in Hospital in Athens - ICU

May 3rd 1992 - Little Lee (my son) went to Sunday school for the first time

Jan 18, 2000. - xxxxx came home today.  Praise the Lord! - Thank You Lord Jesus!

Jan 23, 2000 - Little Lee Joined First Baptist Ellenwood

Feb 20, 1992 - Little Lee was baptized

May 11, 1992 – Don (my Father) fell out of a tree into the creek.

May 14, 1992 - Don came home from the hospital. Thank you Jesus

Sept 13th 1993 Allene died today (my other grandmother who may as well have been Nana’s sister)

Dec 25th 2000 - xxxxx was home for Christmas - Thank You Jesus

Easter Sunday, 2001. Ruffin (My grandfather) is so sick so we read this at home today - 1 Corinthians

November 3rd, 2001 – Our car was stolen

Sept 3, 2001 – Ruffin (My grandfather) went home to be with the Lord at 5:15 am. I loved him all my life and I always will.

November 2, 2001 - I am packing to move today. This is not home anymore without Ruffin. I miss him so much

November 16, 2001 - I am living with Betty and Don and I am so thankful they took me in. I am trying not to be so much trouble but it is a big chore for me.

and hundreds more...

________________________________

Long after Nana couldn’t write anymore, she kept praying and praising. At my house while we battle leukemia, we always knew that though she might be bed ridden, Nana was still praying for us.

So if you ask me, "Are you sad that Nana’s not here?...

I am.

It breaks my heart and I know that we are all going to miss her in our own way. But through this example that Nana left for us, certainly we know where we can find comfort on the hard days in our lives and our worries, no matter how big or small.

I found something I thought was very interesting in Nana’s Bibles. There are places where squares of scripture have been cut out of a page. Sometimes you find them somewhere else in one of her Bibles with other clippings from the Bible or other sources.

I mentioned earlier that Pastor Tew asked me if Nana had some favorite scripture. I’m not sure but I found a clipping and I believe that this scripture was important in her life. It comes from 1 Corinthians, 13. It says:

"Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.

" So some may have called her Nana, some Evelyn, and some “Elv” but last night I gave her a new name.

Nana the Warrior. ...

and I one hundred percent believe that without me even knowing, that many of the blessings in my life are a result of my Nana’s relentless faith and prayer.