“She’s banged up, mentally and emotionally. Literally and metaphorically. But every day she walks outside with a smile on her face because that’s who she is.”

I cannot tell you how much that quote has inspired me during times in my life that I have been struggling. Part of the reason I love it is because it reminds me so much of my Grandma Pearson. She passed away years ago but she was a woman who went through more tragedy and loss in her life than anyone could ever imagine, yet every single day she had the most beautiful smile on her face.

She taught me that no matter how good a person may be, they cannot escape trials. This woman was literally as dang near perfect as any person on this earth could ever be. She spent her life in the service of others. Yet she had to deal with the death of three of her children when they were babies, one when he was just and then an adult daughter. Her husband was hit by a drunk driver breaking about every major bone in his body. She battled cancer multiple times. She had more major surgeries than I could count. Her husband got Alzheimer’s. The list goes on and on and on of all the bad things that happened to her in her lifetime…

Yet with all these trials she faced, I literally cannot think of a time that I came to visit her, whether it was in her home or in a hospital, when she didn’t greet me with a glowing smile on her face – because that was who she was.

Have an amazing day today everyone…and always remember to SMILE!

~Amy Rees Anderson