Arlene "Narnie" Hilliard Ruggles
February 22, 1911 - January 4, 2007
Today marks what would have been Narnie's 100th birthday, and as I take a few moments to reflect on the life of a woman who taught me what it means to be a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend & a woman of faith, I am thankful for the moments we got to share.
While we may not have gotten a 100 years together, we certainly had a 100 lifetimes of laughter and more. Like the time when I was only in elementary school and we were over at her house one afternoon - we used to always get a maraschino cherry when we visited Narnie, but as we had finished (yet another) jar off that day, I decided that since I loved cherries so much I was going to drink the half-full jar of cherry juice that remained once all the cherries had been devoured. Yeah, that was painful. Pretty sure we laughed about that one for awhile, especially because I was so adamant that I was going to love it when she told me I wasn't.
There was also the time much later in her life - in fact, in her last year of life - when Narnie, Mom & I were out to eat at her favorite breakfast place, and Narnie decided to chime in on a little contest she thought Mom & I were having. Often times in public, Mom & I will flash our grill pieces at one another to see if we have anything stuck in our teeth. On this occasion, we were examining each other when Narnie proudly proclaimed, [pointing to me] "Yep, your teeth are definitely whiter than your teeth" [pointing to Mom's] Even today, Mom & I find ways to incorporate this phrase into conversations for an extra laugh.
I mentioned "reading the Bible from cover to cover" as one of my 2011 goals, and this is the day to start. Here is the link to Pastor Furtick's blog, and at the bottom of this post is a link to the 90-Day Plan in case you want to follow along! It's like Day 1 of P90X, baby, and this study is about to whip me in shape.
While we may not have gotten a 100 years together, we certainly had a 100 lifetimes of laughter and more. Like the time when I was only in elementary school and we were over at her house one afternoon - we used to always get a maraschino cherry when we visited Narnie, but as we had finished (yet another) jar off that day, I decided that since I loved cherries so much I was going to drink the half-full jar of cherry juice that remained once all the cherries had been devoured. Yeah, that was painful. Pretty sure we laughed about that one for awhile, especially because I was so adamant that I was going to love it when she told me I wasn't.
There was also the time much later in her life - in fact, in her last year of life - when Narnie, Mom & I were out to eat at her favorite breakfast place, and Narnie decided to chime in on a little contest she thought Mom & I were having. Often times in public, Mom & I will flash our grill pieces at one another to see if we have anything stuck in our teeth. On this occasion, we were examining each other when Narnie proudly proclaimed, [pointing to me] "Yep, your teeth are definitely whiter than your teeth" [pointing to Mom's] Even today, Mom & I find ways to incorporate this phrase into conversations for an extra laugh.
All the stories aside, my grandmother was a faithful woman who had a very strong belief in her family, God (and of course, crossword puzzles)....because she is very much the kind of person I wish to emulate, I decided to honor and celebrate her life today by beginning my 90-Day Bible Reading Plan.
I mentioned "reading the Bible from cover to cover" as one of my 2011 goals, and this is the day to start. Here is the link to Pastor Furtick's blog, and at the bottom of this post is a link to the 90-Day Plan in case you want to follow along! It's like Day 1 of P90X, baby, and this study is about to whip me in shape.
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