Childhood Heros

Everyone needs someone to look up to. Someone strong and that truly shines when they themselves are going through rough times. For me that person was extremely important to me. This person was a shining example to me of how someone should endure the tough times. This person had an extremely powerful faith and despite all she endured with her health and in her past she found reasons to smile and laugh. She was never angry and spiteful like I was at least not that I saw. My nana was my childhood hero and even when I grew to old to really have a hero she still continued to be that for me.
She had every reason to be angry at God. She had a past that  could make one heck of a novel that would leave you on the edge of your seat. For a long time my family didn't believe a lot of her stories to be true until we came across a historical novel that backed everything up. She carried her mother on her back and walked with her sibling to Korea or China. It's been awhile since I heard the story. She refused to cut her hair at the buddhist temple and was taken in by christian missionaries and became a devout catholic. She had to be married three times before the United States would accept her marriage to my Pap.
She was blessed with a husband who loved her and three wonderful children who would give her grandchildren. Grandchildren that she loved to spoil with food and tell her stories to while cooking in the kitchen. When I knew her she fought an ongoing battle with diabetes and Macnia Gravas (sorry about the spelling) a battle she fought for a long time.
During her healthier years you really wouldn't have known. She wasn't going to let it slow her down. She took her meds and did her best to stay healthy. She was one of the strongest women I've ever known. When my epilepsy began it was to her I looked up to. I looked to her as an example of how to deal with all the crap that comes your way without falling apart. For awhile I thought faith and dealing with things were two complete separate things, but in watching her I learned that wasn't true. I learned that she dealt so well not just because she had a loving family willing to support her, but because she gave what she could not control to God.
Telling about my nana is important because honestly if I hadn't had her example to look up to I might not be the person I am today. I might not have the faith I have today. I most certainly would not have come out the other end of my ordeal in one piece. I'm sure that it would have broken me if I had not stopped and wondered how my nana did it.  My nana is a major reason my soul is saved today and I look forward to the day I can thank her in heaven. LOVE YOU NANA!