Years ago Joni and I were part of a small church group that met regularly and during one session we asked everyone this question. What person had the biggest impact on you spiritually growing up? Three-quarters of our group shared the same answer. A grandparent. I was one of those who gave that response. My life was impacted then and to this day by my dear Granny Davis. She had taken on the name Davis from her second husband Raymond. Talitha Alice Burchett remarried a few years after enduring the unthinkable tragedy of losing her first husband to typhoid fever when my dad was only six-months-old. A widow with a newborn living in dirt poor Appalachia would have reason to be bitter. But not this remarkable woman. So many words come to mind as I remember Granny Davis. The first word is always gratitude. Anytime I visited she was grateful for one minute of my time or for many hours.
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