Good Evening TXK
Certain people in life quietly become the center of everything without ever trying to be. These very special people do not demand attention, they do not chase recognition, yet somehow the entire room feels warmer, more joyful the moment they walk in. For my family, that person has always been my Granny.
This January, she turned 80, which still feels impossible to anyone who knows her. Not that she hides her age, because Granny has never been one to pretend to be anything other than exactly who she is. But it’s because her spirit feels so timeless. She is what many call an “angel in a scarf,” and if you know her, you know that description is not an exaggeration.
My Granny is the queen of our family, the matriarch, the pillar, the glue that holds everyone together, but not in the flashy, crown-wearing sense of the word. She is the quiet kind of queen. She is the kind who prays for you before you even realize you need it, the kind who remembers birthdays, prayer requests, doctor appointments, and every tiny detail about the lives of the people she loves. It’s almost alarming how quickly you fall in love with her when you meet her.
I grew up directly across the street from my grandparents’ house, which meant Granny and Pop weren’t the grandparents we only saw on holidays. They were woven into everyday life. Their house was always open, the door always unlocked.
Living across the street also meant that whenever I got into trouble as a kid, my mom had a very convenient solution. She would send me straight across the street to Granny’s house. Some kids get grounded. Some kids lose their video games. I got sentenced to extended spiritual retreats at my grandmother’s house. During one of these rather lengthy “visits,” Granny handed me the entire Left Behind book series and said, very sincerely, “I just don’t want you to get left behind. I want you in Heaven with the rest of us.” Looking back with laughter, that might be the most “Granny” moment of all time.
If you asked her a random question about… let’s say… pancakes, the answer somehow always led back to Jesus. If you asked her about life, the answer led back to Jesus. If you asked her about relationships, the answer—you guessed it—led back to Jesus. That used to frustrate me a little because my young brain just wanted practical answers. But the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized something Granny understood long before I ever did. Life and circumstances change. Jesus doesn’t. Her entire life has been dedicated to extending the ministry of Jesus Christ to everyone she encounters.
What makes that so remarkable is that it did not come from an easy start in life. Granny grew up in a home where she was not loved well. She experienced things as a child that could have easily hardened her heart. Instead, as a high school teenager, she got saved and chose the exact opposite direction. She chose love, grace, and forgiveness. And she has spent the rest of her life living out that choice.
In June 2024, our family walked through one of the hardest seasons we have ever experienced when my Pop passed away. Just one month before, he and my Granny had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Sixty years! Granny spent the final years of his life caring for him as his health declined, honoring the words “in sickness and in health” in the most literal way possible. Standing over his bed after he had passed, through tears, she simply uttered, “How blessed are we?” That sentence tells you everything you need to know about her. Even in the middle of unimaginable grief, her first instinct was gratitude.
Even now, at 80 years old, she still has the same big, beautiful hair she has always had, the same warm smile, and the same heart that quietly serves people without ever expecting recognition. In a world where people often do good things so others will notice, Granny has always lived the opposite way. She never wants her right hand to know what her left hand is doing. She simply serves because she believes that’s what Jesus called her to do.
And if you want proof of how loved she is, for her 80th birthday, her friends secretly planned a huge surprise party for her. Her closest family and friends filled the room. When Granny walked in, she was crowned properly for the queen she is, laughing and hugging people tight, completely overwhelmed by how many people had shown up to celebrate her life. It reminded me that a person’s impact isn’t measured by accomplishments or titles, but by the relationships we cultivate with others.
There is no one on Earth I want to be prouder of me than her. She is the reason I love Jesus. She is the one who showed me, through the way she lived, that faith is not just something you talk about in Sunday school. It’s something you live every single day.
She taught me about the free gift of salvation. Granny has spent her entire life praying the same prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not what I will, but what You will.” She truly believes that His ways are higher, and her life is proof that when someone lives that way, the ripple effects can last for generations.
Eighty years later, our entire family is still standing in the light of the choice she made all those years ago. And if you ask me, that is what a truly incredible life looks like.
TXK BOOK CLUB
April recommendation
Book
The Many Lives of Mama Love
by Lara Love Hardin
Genre
Memoir
RATING
Since memoirs are true stories of real people’s lives, it does not feel right to rate them. But we think you will love this book.
SUMMARY
The Many Lives of Mama Love tells the true story of Lara Love Hardin, a seemingly perfect suburban soccer mom whose secret heroin addiction leads her to steal neighbors’ credit cards and commit identity theft. After being arrested and convicted of dozens of felonies, she spends time in prison, where she earns the nickname “Mama Love” and learns to navigate prison life. Following her release, she rebuilds her life through writing and eventually becomes a successful ghostwriter and literary agent. The memoir explores addiction, motherhood, incarceration, and the difficult path toward recovery and forgiveness.
Reader’s Take
“I don’t think I could have loved this book more. It’s an honest, heartfelt story about mistakes and second chances. It gives you a different perspective on people who struggle with addiction. This is one of those books that sticks with you long after you finish it.”
—Samantha Stokes
FACES & PLACES
APRIL & MAY
April 3-12
81st Annual Four States Fair & Rodeo
Four States Fairgrounds
April 10
Downtown Live!
Downtown Texarkana
6-9 pm
April 11
Autism Awareness Community Event
Southwest Center
1-3 pm
April 11
Waggin’ Wiener Run
Hopkins Icehouse
11 am
April 11
The Ultimate Elvis Concert
Perot Theatre
7:30 pm
April 11 & 12
Artist INC Express Workshop
Texarkana Regional Arts Center
April 17
Diamond Rio
Perot Theatre
7:30 pm
April 18
Habitat for Humanity
Diamonds for Doorways
Silvermoon on Broad
6-9 pm
April 18
Pork on a Fork Fundraiser
Ramage Farms
5-8 pm
April 18
CASA Over the Edge Fundraiser
300 Olive Street
12-5 pm
April 19
Tough Kookie Cancer Support Group Meeting
Premier High School
4 pm
April 24 & 25
Fouke Monster Festival
Fouke Community Center
April 25
Masterworks III: Spring Forward
Perot Theatre
7 pm
April 30
Pitch It Texarkana
Crossties Event Venue
6 pm
May 2
Twice as Fine Texarkana Wine Festival
Spring Lake Park
11 am-6 pm
May 7
Haven Homes
May Celebration
Texarkana, Arkansas Convention Center
6 pm
