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PrintLancaster grandparent's tips on overcoming tough spots
“Most people know me as the lady in the power chair or the woman who waives at cars as they drive by—and that’s the way I like it,” said a Lancaster county native, who is referred to in this story as Beth to preserve her anonymity. If you talk to the majority of drivers that travel through Lancaster County regularly though, most will tell you they’ve seen or talked to Beth before. “I like sitting and waving to the cars” that drive by she explains, “I get to meet a lot of interesting people.” And perhaps it is that word—interesting—that best describes Beth’s story.
While many could tell you that Beth is a caring and lovely individual, few could tell you about the struggles she has endured as a parent. Raising four children and several grand children on her own (after a failed marriage) with no financial support, Beth explained that she often had no choice but to visit multiple church donation centers in order to get enough food to feed her family. It was difficult just trying to make it, she says deep in thought—but “I always had God to bring me through everything.”
Even through the difficulties of parenting, she always made time for her and her kids to help clean up their local churches and cemeteries, doing everything she could to “raise them right.” When asked about her favorite memory as a parent, she recalls a time when her and her children and grandchildren gathered together for a family photo—a picture she recently uncovered in her home.
Beth understands that now more than ever families are struggling to overcome hardships caused by lay-offs and a hurting economy. Based upon her own experiences, she suggested that parents stay hopeful and recommends that parents follow three crucial tips that helped her get through the tough times: “keep God in your home and marriage, love your children no matter what and keep telling your children how much you love them.”
