“Keep Your Chin Up”

“Who inspires you?” That was the question I recently asked people I knew from all walks of life. I received a variety of answers in which I categorized into two groups: 

• People they knew — family, friends, or colleagues
• People they didn’t — historic or current public figures

Many people had more than one person who inspired them, but when I asked for them to choose the person who had the most overall impact in their lives, every answer came back with someone they knew. With inspiring people in our lives we can see how they handle their situations, especially the ones that come out of left field. Do you want to know something else amazing? Any person can inspire us or give us smiles when we need it the most. Just think about the person who smiled at us in a store. What about that person who helped us pick something off the shelf we couldn’t reach? While there are many people who have been a wonderful influence in my life and who I want to emulate — here’s looking at you, Mom and Dad — there’s one person I know who has really been a shining light to me, even more than normal with everything she has been going through.

This wonderful 93-year young woman is a woman who has had her share of hardships in life, especially as of late, yet always has a positive attitude and a smile on her face. No matter what happens in her life, there’s always a silver lining to every cloud. In fact, in every cloud all she sees is the silver lining. When I talk with her I’m encouraged by her amazing attitude, as well as getting stitches in my side from laughing at her hilarious stories and antics. She never lets a moment go by without coming up with something fun to do. 

Here are a few things that will always remind me of her: 

• Her laughter that makes you want to laugh with her.
• Her sense of fun when she comes up with hilarious things to do. 
• Her sense of adventure, like the time when we used an old photographs to find former family homes in the middle of nowhere.
• Her love of anything Coca-Cola. I know there will always be a Coke with the ‘good’ crushed ice waiting for me.

She lost her husband of 65 years a while ago, which this year would’ve been 72 years of marriage. She still lives alone in the country in the house they built over 60 years ago. In the last few years she’s had a rough go at it. She had a tornado go through her area which caused a  massive chunk of tree to break off, smash through her bedroom window, and damage a portion of her roof. If that wasn’t hard enough, she had to live with the window boarded up for over a year, even during the winter, because of the supply shortage due to Covid. Was she constantly griping and complaining? She was not. She was thankful it was able to be boarded up. Then her sump pump gave out on her, twice, and there was water standing in the basement. Was there any complaining this time? Once again, not a discouraging word was heard. 

Just recently a new huge problem arose with issues with her well. Those who have well water know that if the well goes on the fritz, so does the water. She didn’t have great water pressure to begin with, but one day the water pressure was practically non-existent. The water trickled out of her faucets, she didn’t have enough pressure to flush the toilets, and obviously, no showers could be taken. Put yourself in her shoes — no showers, no working toilets, and barely any water from the tap for seven days. You bet your bottom dollar the gal writing this blog would be complaining. Did this lovely woman complain? No, in fact, she was making up and laughing at jokes during our phone call. As she so eloquently states, “Sometimes, I have a few tears but they don’t last for long.” Wow, I wish I could be more like that. 

As she has gotten older, she said it has been getting harder to get around. However, does that stop her? No! She’s still able to drive so she gets into the car and goes through the drive-thru at one of her favorite restaurants. The other day she didn’t know if she would be able to do some grocery shopping because she needs to use an electric cart in order to shop in the store but that didn’t stop her from trying. When she pulled into the parking spot, someone else had just finished loading his car and had left an electric cart right by where she parked. She was able to shop! When she got home, she got the refrigerated items into the fridge, took a nap, and then unloaded the rest of the groceries. 

Let me ask you this — how many people do you know would have gone to get groceries when it would be so hard to unload? Better yet, how many people would even go out to try to get groceries when there would be a great chance they wouldn’t be able to even get inside the grocery store? There is no, ‘woe is me’ attitude with this special lady. It’s the attitude of, ‘I think I can. I think I can…and I will.’

Do you want to know part of the secret to her success? It comes from her father. When she was child and was sad or having a hard time, her father would put his fingers gently under her chin, raise her head up, and say, “Keep your chin up.” To this day when things get hard or she doesn’t think she can handle a situation, she can feel her father’s fingers beneath her chin, gently raising her head, and she hears those words in her head, “Keep your chin up.” She mentioned the other day that when you keep your chin up your eyes look to God. Whether you have a loving father figure in your life or not, you do have a Father in Heaven who looks at you with more love than you could ever imagine. He’s waiting to help you through the day by strengthening you and to help keep your chin up. 

Who is this wonderful woman I’m talking about? If you didn’t know already, it’s you, Aunt Betty. The person I am honored to call Aunt Betty is actually my Great-Aunt Betty, to which I say she is my great-aunt (my grandpa’s sister) and my great aunt (my awesome and inspiring aunt). 

My dear Aunt Betty, I know you sometimes wonder why you’re still around. I’ll tell you the secret that I and everyone who comes in contact with you know. It’s to be an inspiration and a shining ray of joy into all our lives. You have not only been an encouragement to all who know you, but now, through this blog, to the people who you don’t know as well! Just think about all the people who may find this blog when they need encouragement the most and read all about you and the way you live your life. You are the inspiration in this blog, not the writer, because you live your life with such a positive attitude. You are my inspiration and you will always be in my heart. I love you, Aunt Betty!

Keeping the perspective,
Lauren

“I thank my God every time I remember you.”
(Philippians 1:3 NIV)