Family Life: Tribute to My 106 yr old Grandmother

Over the past weekend, I was blessed to spend quality time with family in the celebration of my grandmother''s 106th Birthday. She is the pillar of our family. Daniel Webster says “our mother works not upon canvas that perish nor the marble that shall crumble into the dust, but upon mind, upon spirit, which will last forever, and which is to bare for good or evil, throughout eternity”.

Desdie Elizabeth Whyte was born on February 3, 1913 in Grange Hill, Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies. She was the first of three children. She received her formal education at Grange Hill Primary School Westmoreland. At the age of 18, A plantation owner named Dr. Isaac's employed her and she worked along with her mother as a Butleress.

On August 19, 1933, she married Reverend Wesley Farquaharson. Their union produced 8 beautiful children, 5 boys and 3 girls. She was her husband’s constant companion and worked alongside him, practicing the choirs, teaching Sunday school classes and helping in any area of the church where her services were needed. It was no wonder that when her husband died on January 3, 1965 she was elected as Assistant Pastor of the Welcome Church of God Holiness in Westmoreland. There she served until July 8, 1976. She migrated to the U.S.A. in 1976 and became a member of the New Covenant Church of Christ in 1982. Her hobbies are gardening, traveling and sewing. The latter she does in her spare time with great pride and joy.

I love my grandmother for her gentle humor and strength in the face of challenge. I love her wisdom, upon which many rely and her understanding, for which others seek after. Her quiet disposition, her winsome smile, forgiving spirit, positive outlook on life and her strong faith in God have given her a character that is unmatched. The going was never easy but with commitment and dedication, God guided her..

I love my grandmother’s love and gratitude for goodness and life. I will always cherish her, for nothing can place that tender sweetness of her hands that give so much and keep on giving.

Who I am today is a result of my grandmothers’ Godly nurturing. To know my grandmother is to hear her praying in the still hours of the morning in Darliston, Westmoreland, Jamaica W.I, asking God to spare the lives of her children and to lead them in the path of righteousness.

Who is my grandmother? She is the hand that guides us, the heart that teaches, the humor that strengthens, and the everlasting love that cradles us even to the grave. No other human being has ever been given a task more great, more important, more delicate, more valuable, more unique and none could have done better.

“She is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 3:15).

#Weekend #celebration #grandmother