Heavenly Motivation

Thanks for the endorsement, Grampa Clark!

Oh, wow, y’all—I just woke up from the most beautiful dream!

Check this out: Last night, I had this dream that I was enrolled in a class called “Torch Passing 101.” Now, given my reputation up here at Rust, I take my classes seriously, so that being said, I was ten minutes early for the class. Well, once the bell rang, I walked inside the classroom and found a seat with ease, given that I was earlier than normal.

And that’s when it hit me—there were no other students in this class!

As I questioned where everyone would be, a bright light shone from Heaven, and “Power of Love/Love Power” by Luther Vandross played through an intercom system. I sang along to the tune, just as my Grampa Clark suddenly appeared before my very eyes. He still looked the same as I remembered him, except his salt-and-pepper hair and mustache were a silver white. He still had his gold-framed glasses, his favorite navy blue slacks, and grey Fisk University sweatshirt. With a click of his fingers, the Luther Vandross song ended, yet he continued to sing the ending of the song on account of that was always his favorite.

I tell y’all—I was so excited to see my Grampa Clark that I hopped out of my seat and ran towards him. However, with a loving smile, he held up his hand and pointed to my seat, making mention that it was “not time for that just yet.”

At the risk of boring you all with long, in-depth details (besides, I’ve got a personal journal for that), I’ll just say that my Grampa Clark was an excellent teacher. No disrespect at all to my instructors here at Rust, but in this beautiful dream, my Grampa Clark taught me lessons that I will forever hold in my heart. He basically sat me down and told me how proud he was of me; he also mentioned how he’s been cheering me on from his heavenly front row seat, as I displayed my gifts and talents to the Cradle Roll class at my church.

Simply put, Grampa Clark said that I was born to teach, and that there will indeed come a day where I will step onto familiar schoolgrounds and shape so many young little lives that they’ll have no choice but to create a Kindergarten Teacher Hall of Fame and select me as the first inductee.

If y’all don’t mind my saying, that is one damn good endorsement.

Finally, the time came to where the bell rang and class was over. Before I left out of the classroom, Grampa Clark said that he had another gift for me. I walked up to him, and he picked me up as easily as he did when I was two years old. There we were, sharing a great big ol’ hug—and when I woke up, I felt a kiss upon my cheek.

And how apropos that today marks 17 years that Grampa Clark transitioned to Heaven. It’s kinda funny how things happen like that, but I’ll say this: If I ever needed any other kind of motivation to continue to pursue my dream, then that visit with my Grampa Clark more than did the job!

Well, I guess I had better close this blog post and get on with my day. Let me give y’all a heads-up, though: Y’all ain’t gonna hear from me until Tuesday—it is a three-day weekend, don’tcha know! So, with that said, I’ll holla at y’all in about three days. Until then, y’all take care, and may God continue to bless and keep each and every last one-a-y’all. Smooches!

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha