“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.“
~Proverbs 22:6
Born & Raised…
I was born and raised in the church. There are many times I may jokingly say that I was ‘born on the altar’ but in a lot of ways I may as well have been. Raised by my bible-toting, revival running, Deaconess and Evangelist Grandmother there weren’t many days that we weren’t on our way to church, in church or on our way back from church. In fact, all of my major memories take place within the framework of a church scene. Even my Sweet 16 was in the backyard of the church after a choir rehearsal.
As a Teenager, I began to interact with others outside my church family and I started to realize the life I lived wasn’t the normal practice for other teenagers. Most other teenagers didn’t come home from school to head off to prayer on Monday nights, Bible Study on Tuesdays, Business Meetings on Wednesdays, Choir Rehearsals on Thursday and Devotional on Fridays. My friend’s Saturdays weren’t spent at the church prepping for whatever special service was going to be taking place at church the next day.
My friends were allowed to sleep in on Sunday mornings and enjoy a lazy day at home while I was already up and out the door by 8am on my way to Sunday School and a day full of morning worship. We would have an early dinner with my family then return to the church for whichever Guest Speaker was lined up for that evening. I know what your thinking…too much right? Yet it was all I knew. To me this was normal. To me it was just what we did.
This Was My Life…
As a child, you are taught the foundations of your morality. Those things you will build your beliefs on throughout the rest of your life and into adulthood. It was during early childhood that I learned what devotion, commitment and dedication were. Watching my Grandmother, I learned to always be a person of integrity and always honor my word. If my Grandmother said she would be somewhere, do something or help someone you could guarantee it was going to happen. To her, her word was the most important thing she could ever offer to someone and she never took it lightly when she did.
Earlier I described my Grandmother as a ‘bible-toting, revival running, deaconess and Evangelist’. She was all of these and then some. She still is. Back then it wasn’t very common for a woman to hold any of the positions she held yet she did and she held them with integrity, wisdom and an anointing that was truly from God. My grandmother is now nearly 80, but she is still just as faithful and dedicated (to the same church) as she was the nearly 35 years ago when I was born. Even now, you can find her in church nearly ever day of the week, on weekends and at her Pastor’s side whenever needed.
I remember riding with her as a child to different churches where she would be running Tent Revivals and week long services. We would drive 2-3 hours and she would get there and preach until she sweat through her clothes then get in the car, drive home and return to do it all over again the next night. This was my example. She was my living breathing example of a Woman of God. I had nothing but pride in being introduced as her granddaughter but with that honor came a weight of expectancy. When people saw me and knew who my Grandmother was they expected more of me. I was a ‘preacher’s kid’ (for those of you from the church I was a PK) and with that came a set of standards that though often unspoken was always implied.
Her Path or Mine…?
From the time I could speak, read and memorize my Grandmother had me active within the church. I was in every children’s program and presentation possible. I said every Easter, Christmas and Holiday Poem you could think of and did all of it with that big stamp of begin Her Grandaughter. It was as if her path in life was becoming mine as well. Slowly that pressure of being more than just a kid began to weigh on me. I was still a child yet I never felt like I was allowed to fully experience it. I felt as if people were simply counting down the days me to put on her robe or do a joint sermon with her.
Mind you my Grandmother herself never made me feel that way. Don’t get me wrong, she always told be that she believed God had something for me to do. That my life was anointed and I had a destined purpose within the Kingdom but she also believed I would find and come into that purpose in God’s time. She never made me feel that I had to be a mini her. Still within my child’s mind, I saw myself in her shadow and I was beginning to wonder if I wanted to be there or anywhere for that matter.
I began to wonder if I truly need to be in the church at all. Was this path she seemed to carve out for my life something I was truly meant to follow? It was now that I started to resent my foundations. I felt like somehow I was being kept from something more. Something better. Maybe there was more to life than the many services and church functions I went to? Did I want to follow in my Grandmother’s footsteps? Did I even have a calling of my own? If I did, did I want to answer it? No, not just yet…
Read Part 2…
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23 thoughts on “Finding My True Path… “Train Up A Child””
Visiting from SITS Great post. I love your convictions! Your grandmother is a wise woman
Hi Carla! Thanks for coming by…I may not have understood all of my Grandmothers reasons for certain things as a teen but I am certainly coming to a clearer understanding as an adult and Momma…
Visiting from SITS…Great writing! It's wonderful how much you respect and admire your grandmother–you were brought up with a wonderful role model. While I am not religious, I am spiritual. I think religion can be a container or a structure that can provide a person with many positive traits like you mention here. It sounds like it's shaped your life in the best possible way–I bet your grandmother is proud of you too.
My recent post Quote of the Week–Sometimes Good Things Fall Apart
Hi Nicole! Thank You! Yes, my Grandmother definitely set an example that has helped me become the Wife, Mother and Woman I am today. I was and am truly Blessed. I hope that she is proud of me…Thank for coming by and hanging out with my words a bit 😀
It's wonderful how much you respect and admire your grandmother even if you don't follow her footprints. So when is the next installment? You have me wanting to hear more!
Thanks so much Kriss! I will most likely publish the next portion of my story next week… I'm glad your interest is stirred, there is more to our story 🙂
I always enjoy learning more about you, Tiffany. This sounds just like my mom and her brothers and sisters growing up. They were in a similar environment with their mom and grandma. They could never wear pants or jewelry either. They made a lot of changes when it came to raising us. I have periods in my life where I was going to church a lot with some of my family members and other points where I wasn't…when me and my brother were going to church a lot, it was always with our grandmothers, though. I think the grandmothers meant well that's for sure. xoxo
Thank you….yes I didn't wear pants for a while. Skirts above my knees were a No-No and I didn't get earrings until I was almost 20. My friends made fun of me forever! LOL One of my co-workers went with me to get my ears pierced and I was terrified. My Grandmother is still a rock but she has become enlightened a lot and realized that the restrictions she thought were mandatory then may have been more man-made than biblical. I admire her for being willing to be taught. Come back for the next part to see more of her story and mine 😉 As always, thanks for your support!
I love this, Tiffany! Grandma was a true church mother. I can only imagine the tension as you grew older and began to want to branch out from under that level of discipline. Excited to read more!
Thank you Alison …yes she is, she truly kept (keeps) me in line and in church.
Look for the next part soon… 🙂
Pretty sure we were separated at birth … I was raised VERY RELIGIOUS .. almost the same crazy schedule as you.
While I don't practice anymore {llllllloooooonnnnnngggggg story} I do thank my upbringing for giving me good morals and keeping my head on straight.
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(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
Raising-Reagan.com
This is so crazy! It's like we mirror each other or something…perhaps we will find more similarities as my story continues to unfold {mine is rather lengthy too}… xoxoxo 🙂
{Melinda} I agree, you're grandmother sounds great, an amazing women, but I'm sure as a young girl being in her shadow could be hard sometimes. Anxious to read your next installment.
Yes, as a child/teen it was difficult. Even the restrictions of the church back then were very hard for me…keep in touch my story isn't over yet 🙂
Your grandma sounds amazing! I can't wait to read the next part to your story!
She truly is…thank you so much! Stay tuned… 😀