Nana and the Beach — Joy in Your Heart While Living in Hard Days

Stevie loves to jump on his bed after he takes a bath and gets ready for bed. He jumps high and likes to look down as the blanket gets small and big, small and big. Stevie freezes as he lands on the blanket and scoots around, looking for a place to put his feet. "Mommy, Daddy, can you please tell me a story before I go to bed?" Stevie pouts, batting his eyes. "Of course, Stevie. You ready to hear your favorite story about Nana and the beach?" Mommy and Daddy reply. "Can I get my sisters, Lee-lee and Lid-kid?" In less than a blink, they saw three little cornstalks planting their roots. Stevie and his sisters all plop onto the hallway floor, each with a pillow and blanket. Mommy watches from the top of the stair landing, smiling. The kids always liked to do fun things, and making a bed in the hallway between their bedrooms was just it. Daddy clears his throat with a deep ahem and begins the story. "When I was younger, my grandma took my sister and me to a neighborhood party at the beach." "Who was there?" Lee-lee interrupted her daddy. Mommy says, "We listen to everyone's words, baby. Your turn will come up." She acts like she grabbed Lee-lee's top lip and puts it in her pocket, and says, "I got your lip." They both laugh, and Lee-lee asks Mommy to sit next to her. "Auntie, uncle, lions, and tigers were there too," Daddy adds. "We played on the beach until it got late. On the way home, a gust of wind blew my grandmother's hat and her wig out the window." The next thing I know I hear: "Ooh, hallelujah! Thank you Jesus! Jesus! Hallelujah! Have mercy!" rejoicing, said Nana. My sister and I look at each other and we look at my grandma. I don't know if she sees what we see, but my grandma grabs my sister's scarf and puts it around her head. We say, "Nana, why you saying hallelujah?" And she says, thankfully, "'Cause I'm so happy it did not happen on the beach." The moral of the story: it's all about how you decide to act. Nana could have been upset about losing her hat and wig, but she decided to find the good anyway. It doesn't matter what happens to us in life — it's all about how we react. Nana could have been upset about losing her hat and wig, but she decided to find the good anyway. The room was still as the kids took in the lesson. Lydia says, "I want to be like Nana and see things in a positive way. Thank you, Daddy, for the story." Mommy smiled and said, "That's a great idea, Lydia. Now, it's time for bed. Goodnight, everyone." The kids hugged their parents and went to bed with the story of Nana and the beach in their heads. They snuggled up in their blankets and fell asleep, dreaming of Nana and the beach. This is the artist's vision of the gallery. A person comes in carrying whatever the world has shown them its teeth — and the gallery teaches them that it doesn't matter what happens to you in life. It's all about how you decide to act. Nana found the good anyway. She was so happy it didn't happen on the beach. Joy in your heart while living in hard days. You can live inside yesterday's pain. You can't live without it.