The Power of Love

Bradley’s Secret Power

by
Grandma Baadsgaard
Happy 11^th birthday Bradley.
I love you with all my heart.

        “Grandma, did your teacher ever punish the whole class for something just a few kids did?” Bradley asked.

“Yes,” Grandma answered. “I guess some things never change. I used to hate that more than anything because no matter how hard I tried to be good, I’d still get in trouble. Now that I’m older I realize teachers do that because they’re scared. When people are scared they don’t make wise choices.”

“Scared?” Bradley asked.

“Yes. They’re scared that the rest of their students are going to start misbehaving too. They’re scared of losing control. Some people don’t know that the only real lasting power comes from love.”

Bradley smiled. As he and his grandmother sat next to each other on the front steps of her home, the marigolds, zinnias and petunias filled the air with the scent of a lazy autumn day.

“I like that,” Bradley said.  

            “Did you know that I have secret power?” Grandma asked.

            Bradley turned and looked at his grandma with a curious stare.

            “You?” Bradley asked.

            “I might look old on the outside, but inside I’m young and beautiful because I know where to find love that lasts forever,” Grandma said.

            “Where?” Bradley asked.

            “When I was your age I believed everything other people told me.”

            “What is wrong with that?” Bradley asked again.

            “Sometimes when we’re young, you don’t know that what other people are telling us is a lie. If someone said I was stupid, I believed them. If someone said they hated me, I thought I was not good enough. If a friend told me I was ugly, I thought they were right. If someone was mean to me, I thought something was wrong with me.”

“Sometimes I do that too,” Bradley said.

“Then one day I went to a quiet place in my yard and said a prayer,” Grandma continued.

            “Is that how you found your secret powers Grandma?”

“It was a summer day much like today. I still remember the smell of the flowers and the soft breeze on my face.”

Bradley looked around him at the trees and felt the wind on his face.

“I asked God if He loved me,” Grandma said. “That’s when I felt liquid sunshine flow all through my body. I’d never felt so warm and peaceful before. That’s when I knew I was good enough and that I was beautiful. God loved me just because I was me. God loves you just because you are you Bradley.”

“I want to feel that,” Bradley said.

“When you’re filled up with God’s love,” Grandma said, “nothing that anyone says or does can take away that peaceful feeling inside you. Then you don’t have to feel scared all the time. You relax and trust that God will love you forever.”

“I like that,” Bradley answered.

“When I was your age, I was scared that I’d never be good enough and that something bad was going to happen,” Grandma said. “But after that prayer I knew God was always with me and that everything would work out. Now every time I feel scared again, I pray.”

“I want to feel like that,” Bradley said.

“No one can take the love of God away from us Bradley.  Now, that is power – real power.

“I never thought about love as power,” Bradley said. “I love you Grandma. That makes us both super heroes to each other. ”

“You are my super hero, that is for sure,” Grandma said. I love you Bradley. I’ll love you forever.”

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