Mentoring in Action: Grandma Ella

Ella became my substitute grandmother when we moved across the country the year I turned thirteen. I would traipse across the street after school to vist for a half hour or more. She would welcome me with cookies and milk. She was a fabulous listener, but she was also very opinionated. Grandma Ella loved music and she had a penchant for both Christian books and romance novels. She had been a young wife and mother in the Great Depression. At the time we met she was a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. At that time, she had an ill husband who was confined mostly to his bed.

When we think about mentors, sometimes we focus on education mentors. There are also life mentors who help us mold our personality traits and discover our value. Grandma Ella was this second kind of mentor for me. She helped me value the things that made me unique while tempering some of my flaws. She was a straight shooter so when she felt that I was making a mistake she was quick to tell me, but I always felt her overwhelming love, acceptance, and enjoyment of who I was. She was a huge proponent of the importance of keeping family and God at the center of one's life, values that I shared with her that were also strengthened by our relationship.

Grandma Ella lived until she was over one hundred years old. I was able to visit her throughout the years after I moved away when I would return home. She continue to be a strong willed woman, although her health declined and she eventually lived in a care facility. She had lived through a lot of hardship and also a lot of joyful experiences. I remember her with fondness and as a life mentor. In honor of this amazing woman, I will share the best recipe she shared with me.

Grandma Ella's Ginger Cookies

2/3 c. oil

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1/3 c. molasses

Mix the above well.

Add:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. Baking soda

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Ginger

Chill dough. Roll into balls. Roll balls in sugar. Bake in 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. If desired, string chocolate frosting over while hot.