Courage and Hope

In honor of her new website and the paperback release of May B., author Caroline Starr Rose invited bloggers to speak about what Courage and Hope--two strong themes in her story--mean to them.

When I read those words, a face popped into my mind. But I wasn’t sure I could share the story, because it is personal and difficult and dark--but that’s what makes it all the more beautiful.

Three quarters of a century ago, a little girl named Beverly was growing up in central New York State. She didn’t have too far to go: she reached 4 feet and 10 inches and decided that was quite tall enough. But she didn’t need height to be impressive. While her physical frame may have stopped growing, her soul took off by leaps and bounds. Shakespeare’s words come to mind: “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

This little woman would have plenty of need for her ferocity. When she was only a little girl, she clung to a stuffed animal to try to shield herself from abuse. She suffered through poverty and bullying and an extremely difficult home life. As a young woman, she lost her sister in a tragic accident. She traveled alone across the country to marry a man she’d met only twice but fallen in love with. She raised four children, and saw them through plenty of difficulties of their own. Her large family of brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and very lucky grandchildren knew they could turn to her for anything and she would do her best to help. If you asked Beverly to pray for something, she would--and she would never stop. Those who asked for prayers were often surprised to find, years after the fact, their names and intentions written down in a prayer notebook that she always kept handy. When you spent time with her, you became accustomed to the sound of her rosary beads slipping through her fingers throughout the day.

She was a woman who never lost hope. Her courage led her to challenge herself to keep learning every day of her life. Her house was stuffed full of books of every kind, from fairy tales to college textbooks, along with paint tubes and canvases, knitting needles, yarns, beads. But the most marvelous talent she had was her ability to smile through even the most difficult times. You couldn’t imagine more joy radiating from one woman, and she spread it to everyone who knew her.

She still does. I miss her like crazy and wish I lived closer, but I’ll always count it one of my greatest inheritances to have this woman for my grandmother. She taught me everything I’ll ever need to know about courage and hope and how to make joy your mission in life. I love her so much--as does every person who ever met her or was born into her family or bumped into her at a grocery store. She is little, but she is fierce, and she puts a face to the love of God.