Nana

My daughter’s grandmother on her mother’s side just recently passed, and I want to share this story I wrote July 9, 2016, called Nana, just to let the family know what their Nana meant to me:

I wrote this story for those that may wonder why would a grown man call someone that is not his maternal grandmother – Nana. The story also gives me a chance to give honor to the lady, Mrs. Elizabeth Nevilles, that wears the title. For she has a special place in my heart and will always be…”Nana”

Nana is a child’s word for grandmother. Back in the 80s, when I was married to her daughter, Judy, while we were visiting Nana once in Memphis, Tennessee, I was moved by the way India and Asia, the two granddaughters that she was raising, called her Nana.

I was born and raised in a rural Southern community in Georgia back in the 50s, in the country, as we called it, and I called my grandmother, ma, not even grandma. And to me, saying Nana sounded so much more sophisticated than ma. So when my daughter, Hillary, was born in 1980, I felt I had every right to call my mother-in-law, Nana. For now I could say I was doing it on behalf of my daughter. Right?

When we first used to visit my mother-in-law in Memphis, I found myself helping Nana out in the garden and doing yard work. Working in the garden brought back memories of spending time with my grandmother in the garden when I was a child. There was always a warm glow of love between us, but no communication like I was having with Nana. We just seemed to hit it off.

We had a spiritual connection that I did not understand at the time, but definitely no religious connection. For I had not been born again of the Spirit at that time. And even though Nana is a religious person today, since we never discussed the Bible in that day, I really don’t know if she was religious then. But today, after studying at the feet of Christ the Holy Spirit since 1996, with the Bible as my main textbook, discussing stuff from the Bible is just a normal part of our conversations.

Thanks to the Spirit helping me to discern spirits, I sense that Nana has a warring spirit from the Kingdom of God. Which is why she speaks her mind and backs down from no one. And if my discernment is true, a warring spirit from the Kingdom of God, different from a spirit that would inspire one to sing, dance, or care for others, is a kindred spirit to the spirit of prophecy that I have in the angel Elijah. Which is probably why our spirits bonded so quickly in the beginning of our relationship.

But a warring spirit is a good spirit to have when it comes to actively engaging in spiritual warfare, where spirits use mankind as the weapons in this war. We are either fellow soldiers in the army of God, having a spirit from the Kingdom of God, or we are soldiers in the army of darkness, having a spirit ruled over by the kingdom of darkness himself, Satan. These are just some of the things I’ve learned from studying at the feet of Christ the Holy Spirit, the Sword of the Lord on the battlefield between good and evil.

Even though Judy and I divorced in 1988, Nana and I continued to communicate and exchange gifts and cards for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas. Her granddaughter, Asia, usually gets the assignment to pick out something nice for me. She has excellent taste and has never failed to wow me with her selections. Thank you, Asia. I love you. But Nana takes pride in finding a card that will say what’s in her heart.

I could not help but notice how this card I received one Father’s Day had a backdrop that was so eerily similar to the jacket-cover on my book: Elijah Has Come; the Making of A Servant by God. This eerie similarity and the simple words she wrote on the inside of the card is what motivated me to write this story called Nana. Nana wrote:

“Just thinking what a good man you are. God bless you.” And she signed it, “Nana”. Which tells me she has no problem with me referring to her as Nana.

I realize now that it was our kindred spirits that made us click in the beginning. But I felt it was important to set the record straight as to why I call my ex-mother-in-law, Nana. Nana has been closer to me than my own mother or my grandmother who raised me, the one I called ma. And the reason why is because we communicate on a deep and personal level. Something I never had with my parents. And while I could always use my daughter to justify calling her Nana, I suspect this is the reason why I’ve always had a desire to call her that. With the spiritual connection that we have, in my heart and soul, Mrs. Elizabeth Nevilles, will always be the one I will call… “Nana”