Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies

Proverbs 31:10

I found one. And she is my grandmother. Outside of my mother, she is the most classiest, sassiest, funniest, loving, God fearing woman I’ve ever known.

My grandmother, Cora B. Jones.

Let me tell you, when I was a kid, my grandma would make my dresses and dolls. She took me on trips. My favorite one is when she took my cousins and I to Pittsburgh one summer. When I got into high school, me, my cousins, Bri and Arielle would meet up at her house and stay on weekends. Sitting on trash cans and taking over her house. She never complained.

She and my daddy would go fishing for hours and hours. I don’t know what they could have been talking about but they did it up until she couldn’t anymore.

When I became an adult, I started to go through things that I didn’t want to talk to my parents about. So what did I do? I called my grandma. Nobody knows of times I would stop by her house or call her and talk for hours at a time. That was hard to do because her phone rang ALL DAY! She gave me some of the best advice that I still carry with me til this day.

Follow your heart but take your mind with you”

My grandma would look nice EVERYDAY! There wasn’t a time that I can remember that she wasn’t dressed up. And on Sundays, there was NOBODY cleaner than Cora at church. From her hat to her dress to her stockings to her shoes! She was fresh! And she would be guest speakers at churches and she was always requested to mcee a program. She was the best one I’ve ever seen. Grandma would write down everything that was said in between songs or speeches and when she got back up to announce the next thing on the program, she would be able to bring everything that happened back together. The best. If you didn’t see her in person, you missed out.

Around 2012, my grandmother started to get sick. I remember after Chance left, that she came over to my parents house where I was and she was quieter than normal. I recall her walking around the house with the house phone in her pocket. But I was too grief stricken to really talk with her. We could have bonded more because she too lost a child. Unfortunately, we never had that opportunity.

She was diagnosed with dementia. And this is a sickness that I hate. My grandmother who read everyday, completed countless 1000 pc puzzles, the one who did crossword puzzles because she was told that it would help her keep her memory. Unfortunately, she would forget. No matter how hard she tried to prevent it from happening.

It’s so hard seeing someone as vibrant as she was slowly deteriorate. Everyday, she would get a little worse. One of the most heartbreaking things to experience is to look at your grandmother and she doesn’t know who you are. Then she started to forget who her children were. I remember my daddy being upset because she couldn’t remember him. Next, she started to get smaller. My granny was nicely built but she became a shell of who she was. And that’s hard to witness. I can admit that I didn’t go see her as much as I could have but I didn’t like seeing her in that state. That wasn’t the Cora that I knew. But I would still go to the hospital when she would fall and hurt herself. I went to the rehabilitation center to visit her but it was hard. In my opinion, dementia strips you of all of your dignity. I commend my Aunt Ollie for taking care of her day in and day out. I can’t imagine how hard it was to witness it daily. I’m praying that now she can try to get as close to normal as possible. My grandmother lived with her and my aunt did the best she could with her. Thank you, Aunt Ollie.

Do you remember the story of Lot and his wife? Lots wife was the only one in the Bible to ever turn into a pillar of salt. I don’t know why she looked back but the moment she turned to look back, she was turned into a pillar of salt. And it’s funny that she turned into a pillar of salt because like salt, her presence was important. Like salt, her presence was holding the family together. Because a GOOD mama holds the family together. Like salt, she was the preservative. The only reason why most families made it through everything that we went through aside from God is that a GOOD woman preserved the family. A GOOD woman is like salt because she keeps everything from spoiling. She makes it work when it’s not working. She doesn’t murmur and complain. She just does what she has to do to make it work. A GOOD woman can make her children and grandchildren feel like superhero’s even when things aren’t going right for them. She makes them feel like they can still conquer the world. A GOOD woman makes you want to cuddle up under her because a GOOD woman is a shelter in your life. A GOOD woman is like salt because she seasons up the house. She makes it a better place. She turns a house into a home. She turns a crisis into an opportunity. She turns a tragedy into a moment for us to believe in God. A GOOD woman is like salt. The food could exist but it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t sprinkled in salt. She’s like salt because she’s a purifier and over the years she’ll take a wild child and purify him. She’s like salt. Everything is better when she’s in it. She cleans up messy situations and drives out bacteria. Telling the devil to get up out of her house! A GOOD mama will wake up and pray at 2 am while everybody is sleeping and cry and ask God to cover her family. You probably didn’t know that she was stressed because a GOOD mama never makes her kids worry. That’s a GOOD mama and a GOOD woman.

My grandmother is the salt. I’m not saying that she looked back but I’m showing you her importance in our lives. She could know the worst about us but still believe the very best about us. When all hell was breaking loose she prayed us out of situations.

On Saturday August 11, 2018 at 2:00 am, like a thief in the night, God called her home. I know in my heart that she was ready. I’m going to miss her sassiness. I’m going to miss popping up at her house. I’m going to miss calling her so she could make me feel better. I miss the butter rolls she would make me when I asked her to. I’m going to miss the annoying way her and my daddy would answer the phone when they called one another “whatcha saying with your mouth open? Blah blah blah.” That’s literally what they said to each other. But that’s my flesh speaking. She suffered for a long time and I know now that she is at peace and resting in that mansion that the Lord had prepared for her.

Cora B, you finished your race. You left a great legacy. I know God is pleased. And while you had to suffer here on earth your last few years, your reward in heaven is so great that I can picture how happy you are. Now, you’re with Pop, your parents, your siblings, your son Clarence Jr and granddaughter Sydney Chance. I’m sure they welcomed you with open arms and beautiful songs. Your crown is beautiful and that robe is going to be fresher than any suit you had on here. And while my daddy and his siblings will miss you, your grandchildren will make sure that things get better. We will meet you in heaven one day.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:7-8‬ ‭

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We love and will miss you.