If you know relationship coach Micki Allen then you know she speaks and writes from the heart. Her subjects range from romance and sex to family and showing emotion. She left me a comment one day about her nonny and I asked her if she would write a guest post about their relationship. She kindly agreed and here is the result. May you have a love-filled day! Here is Micki’s guest post:
♥ ♥ ♥
My Nonny was the first person who showed me what unconditional love was, not by her words, but by her actions. She taught me what unconditional love looked like in real life, and what it felt like to receive it and how important it is to share with others.
Nonny was extremely active in the life of her church. In fact, she was considered as one of their unofficial matriarchs by many. Standing at only 4’11’’, she was a tiny woman in stature, but she shared big joy. She played the piano and organ beautifully at every service and she sang with a great voice and big heart. She was in attendance every time the church doors were opened, present at every gathering, active in the women’s ministry as well as in the prison ministry, and she always brought delicious home-cooked nourishment to every funeral and every feast. She shared her love with gifts of food and laughter. She had a delightfully wicked sense of humor and often managed to bring others to tears of happiness.
One of her favorite Bible passages was Nehemiah 8:10 which reads, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” And, she lived every single word of that passage.
I spent many of my childhood summers living with my maternal grandparents, Nonny and Papa, during my summer breaks from school. My Nonny had a very solid morning routine in which she would wake up, go to her kitchen to make a pot of coffee, and then return with a hot cuppa joe to her bedroom for her morning prayers.
One morning I happened to be standing in the kitchen with her as she stood by the window pouring her first cup of coffee for the day and noticed that the sun’s rays were shining at the perfect angle through the kitchen window onto a bottle of Joy dishwashing soap which always rested on the window sill above her sink.
When the sun’s beam of light hit the yellow liquid inside, the bottle of Joy sparkled brightly. I pointed out the beauty of the glowing bottle of Joy to my Nonny and she confided in me that she purposefully placed the bottle of Joy on the window sill so that every morning when she walked into the kitchen it would remind her to begin every day with Joy.
“The joy of the Lord is always our strength,” she told me, “and it is what will keep you going when you think you can’t go on. If you can, start every day holding on to that promise of joy in your heart.” I firmly believe that her ability to bring love and laughter and joy to everyone she met, even to the broken people she ministered to in her prison ministry, were able to bask in her joy, her strength, even if only for a time. It was the joy in her heart, that joyful energy she radiated from within, that touched the lives of so many others with whom she gladly shared.
About Micki Allen
Micki Allen is most grateful to have been blessed to have a Nonny to teach her the great value of joy and unconditional love in life. This life lesson has followed Micki into her present vocation as an Intimacy and Relationship Coach, through which she coaches and ministers to women about the importance of loving and being at peace with themselves as well as in their relationships. You may contact her through mickiallencoaching.com where you may also read her blog posts. Her video series may be found at bit.ly/mickiutube Her Facebook page is at facebook.com/mickiallencoaching. Her closed, exclusive group for women only is available by invitation only; but, you may inquire at hello@mickiallencoaching.com
Make memories in your own kitchen with family by making these yummy game day recipes.
Micki Allen’s description of her Grandmother in the morning brought back wonderful memories of mornings with my own Grandmother. Great post! Thanks.
Oh how nice that this post brought back sweet memories for you, my friend. Micki’s guest post is beautiful and equally beautiful is your friendship.
What a lovely post about Micki’s Nonny. Grandparents are such a wonderful blessing.
What a beautiful post.
Oh what a lovely tribute, <3 Many thanks for sharing Micki's post Christy.. xx
What a great post and great advice from Nonny, to begin each day with joy in your heart. What could be better?
A beautiful tribute! Thanks for sharing your story, Micki.
Beautiful tribute
Thank you for the inspiring guest post, Micki and thank you for the introduction, Christy!
Micki, this rings tower bells in my memory. You had Nonny & Papa. I had Baba & Djadja. The kitchen, the coffee, religious devotion, they were maternal grandparents, the feasts and more.
The feasts, as my father recounts, were all day, in a way. He said “When I went to visit your mom, I wouldn’t eat for 2 days. Baba greeted everyone the same way. She would grab your hand, find your wrist bone and say “you’re you’re so thin!”
You were then led into the kitchen for a full meal.
Thank you for this personal memory! -Resa
Marvelous post, Christy. It’s good to meet Mickie. Hugs
I’m so glad you found it as touching as I did, Teagan. Many hugs
A beautiful account/ tribute… Very moving. An inspirational story which highlights the importance of being positive and appreciating our family members. Faith is such an important thing. (In fact, they say it can move mountains… 💕🌄 ) love and best wishes
Awww I love your comment here for Micki’s post, Aqui. I hope your family is doing well and I know that, like Micki, you hold them close to your heart ♥🏠
They are fine & … yes, I do! Hugs 🤗😘
Hugs <3 <3