Grandma's Kraft--FLASHBACK FRIDAY

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Grandma's Kraft--FLASHBACK FRIDAY

This layout was for Flashback Friday challenge on the pub. We were supposed to include some memorabilia on the layout. I used one of my grandmother's handwritten poems.Grandma's Krafts (spelled this way because Grandma frequently, in her earlier poems, misspelled words–she later learned how to use the dictionary!)Journaling says:My grandmother was a poet. She didn't need a fancy electronic paper cutter, pretty papers, or embellishments to enhance her work. She wrote on anything she could get her hands on, as you can see here. Frequently, her poems were written on the inside of used envelopes, or old receipts, or discarded letterheads! Many were written in pencil–which has faded over the years, and very hard to read now.She used her gift to document births, deaths, and weddings, so she was the family historian. Her prayers were written in poem form. When we'd get a letter from her, there was always a section that was a poem for us–mostly telling us how much she missed us. Sometimes the entire letter was a poem. She wrote poems for us when our birthday's rolled around, when we were sick, or even when the family purchased a new dog! Every Holiday had it's own poem. She even wrote a column in her local newspaper, sharing her poems with her friends and neighbors. Many of her poems allowed her to voice her frustrations with life. If her husband was late for dinner, for instance, she'd dash out a “little ditty” as she called them, to give voice to her cold potatoes sitting on the table waiting for “her Dan!” She wrote many laments to God about the daily circumstances in her life–asking for relief or thanking Him for blessings. She wasn't a “church-goer” but she definitely gave Glory to God for His daily blessings. She began writing poems when she was still a teen. She began putting her poems in a scrapbook–and some of the poems she even added a picture or two. Because of her scrapbook, I have a very small photo of my great-grandmother in fact! Soon, the scrapbook was full, and the rest of her poems ended up in an old box! They still reside in that old battered box. In later years, she frequently suffered from insomnia. Many of her little ditties were written in the dead of night, while others slept peacefully. Those were some of her darker poems. Unfortunately, she had many dark moments in her life to write about! She was a widow by the age of forty, she remarried, but lost that husband, and her only son died at the age of forty-three. She was lonesome. She was poor. She didn't have many outside interests. Besides that, her health declined due to lung problems caused by years of smoking. She, of course, wrote about all of these things. Even though she had a rough life, and according to her poems, she questioned her faith at times, she knew the comfort God provides to his followers. When one reads her poems, her faith jumps out, and even comforts the reader. I'm so happy she had her craft. It gave voice to her deep faith. I'm happy she saved them in that old battered box. There are words of wisdom in that old box. Thank you Grandma.