Words of Wisdom From My Amazing Paternal Grandmother.

In the wee hours of the morning, my father was going through a bin of stuff his sister-in-law had given him upon the death of his brother. It contained pictures and some papers of my grandmothers. He found this little gem written by her. I have left all the grammar, punctuation and paragraphs as written. I always knew I was a lot like her, but I saw a lot of my own thoughts reflected here. She has been gone many years now. Her ashes spread around a giant tree at her little country church. She loved her trees and her church, I can think of no better place for her to lay. Miss you Grandma!

Joyce Sargent Allen...fall 1942...baby-Son Tom
More than likely taken in New York

What Life Means to Me

Joyce Sargent Allen Kraus

Sometime in the 1950's, possibly early 1960's


For me, life is like Nebraska weather, ever changing and not always pleasant, but never boring. There are calm times, dreary times, almost perfect times, and on occasion a veritable tornado threatens everything.

The most important influence on my attitude toward life is no doubt my religious faith, which keeps me on course through all the storms. This is a gift for which I am truly thankful, and one which never seems to stop growing and developing.

I grew up during depression times, the oldest child of a large family, but I have never felt that this did me any harm. It prepared me for managing in the lean times,and also for really appreciating the more prosperous ones.

It seems to me that the stormy times of life are the real growth periods, because at these times we are forced to make sometimes painful decisions about what our values are, and to take a stand for what we believed in. I believe that real maturity consists of this knowing what we stand for, and having the courage of our convictions. Many quite young people show this quality, and many older ones seem never to have developed it, and some just seem to drift along without ever standing for anything.  Here I do not mean that we should take the stand of the bigot--our ideas should be open to change and refinement. I do contend that we should be willing to think about and discuss the vital issues of life, and I admire the person who does whether I agree with him or not.

Consideration of others should be one of our first obligations. I believe that all of our talents should be regarded as gifts and developed for the general good, and shared gladly with others. I thoroughly dislike the snobbish pride which causes a person to look down on others who are less well blessed as though the color of his skin or the ability or I.Q. he has were his by his own merit.

Everyone seems to be searching for security, but I think a good many are searching in the wrong direction. Money and material things are nice to have, and we need some of each just as we need food and shelter, but they are only comforts. In analysis religious faith and integrity of character are the only real security, and these are the qualities I have tried to help my children develop. I firmly believe that this is the best legacy I can leave them, because with these gifts they can life successfully under almost any condition. No amount of money could buy them this security.

Henry Ward Beecher summed up my feelings about life much better than I can when he said, "No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according  to what he is, not according to what he has."

The church she where she lays at rest.