Lessons My Grandma Taught Me Without Saying a Word

I have had the blessing of a very rich family heritage. At sixteen years of age, my grandfather on my mother's side moved from Denmark to the United States to seek his fortune. When he was in his 20s he took a trip back to Denmark to find a wife. He met my grandma on Christmas Eve and asked her to marry him on New Year's Eve. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Knud and Magda Hansen - 1925

My Grandpa Hansen died when my mother was pregnant with my twin sister and me, so I never knew him. However, my Grandma Hansen was a tremendous influence for good in my life. She showed me what godliness looked like long before I could have identified what the term meant.

Grandma knew how to love people. All people. Everywhere. And she was the consumate hostess. Her amazing gift of hospitality, in combination with her superb cooking skills, made every meal at her house a treat. Holiday meals were big events with multiple relatives present, while special Friday night sleepovers were simpler affairs for just my twin sister and me.

And without ever giving a word of instruction, she taught me some very important principles.

1. Don't save the good dishes for company. Grandma used her china when it was just our family visiting. And at great risk, I might add, since that was before Replacement, Ltd. on the web!

2. Everything served with love tastes wonderful. When the cook obviously adores you, how can anything served be less than amazing?

3. Cast iron pans make the best food.

4. Tableclothes make the table look beautiful and can be used when it is "just family."

5. Bugles served with Dr. Pepper make the best TV snack food in the world. Look no further.

When I was a little girl sitting in Grandma's kitchen absorbing all the amazing smells and listening to the kitchen chatter, I never could have imagined what my life would hold and the people with whom I would have the privilege of sharing hospitality. And though my grandma died in 1984, I think of her often. In a thousand big and small ways she became my mentor, teaching me so many important things without saying a word.

See Tell Me Someone is Praying For Us!
See Learning to Love the Bible.