Faith-driven Elaine Grannum is a ‘Special Person’

Sep 03, 2017 News

“There are all sorts of things happening not only in our homes, but throughout our country and the world, but we can’t let those things cause us to not trust in God. He never promised that things won’t go wrong in our lives, but in the midst He is going to be there.’

By Sharmain Grainger

It has long been established that life’s circumstances can either help to make or break an

Elaine Grannum is a Special Person

individual. In fact, some people are tested and tried to the point where their very beliefs can be altered. But it takes quite an exceptional person to become stronger in the face of adversity. One such person is undeniably Elaine Grannum.
Some might conclude that she has had the support of a close-knit family, but it could very well have been because the Creator ensured that she was fashioned to withstand the toughest of times and emerge triumphant.
Grannum during a recent interview quickly quipped that her story is not about secular accomplishments, but rather, about faith, and the ability to cling to this in the best and worst of times. This is understandable, since it was a trait that she’d adopted from a very tender age.

EARLY DAYS
Born June 8, 1946, to parents Fitzgerald and Vashti Jones, Elaine was the first of eight children that union produced. She recalled her early days at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, as quite modest, before her family upped and moved to Garnett Street, Newtown, and then to Bel Air, Georgetown.
St. Mary’s Lutheran School was where she gained her primary education after which she attended Frederick’s School of Home Economics.
Some aspects of her early days, like most people, are more outstanding than others. In fact, one thing she remembers from early on was being especially strong in the Christian faith.
According to Grannum, the very Lutheran School she attended doubled as a church and,

In the company of her husband and children. [Standing from left is Kay [deceased], Owen, Michelle and Nigel]

naturally, she was present at the Sunday school sessions there. She was so immersed in Sunday school sessions that by the time she attained the age of 12, she was appointed a Sunday School teacher, delivering lessons about the gospel of Jesus Christ to her peers.
But taking on this task, she recounted, saw her having to face one of her worst fears at the time – a school bully.
“Whenever I saw this boy coming I would become so scared, because at school he would throw the desks and tumble the benches and so, but his grandmother made sure that he came every Sunday to Sunday School, and I had to face my fears and I did,” recalled a smiling Grannum.
This was perhaps one of the things that happened in her life that helped her to believe, without a doubt, that there was a Supreme Being always willing to lend a helping hand, especially in times of trouble.

GROWING FAITH
She didn’t fully understand the vastness of this notion at that time, but she certainly was growing stronger in faith with each passing year. As she evolved, she recounted being a part of the Luther League, a young people’s group in the Lutheran faith, after which she progressed to the Senior League and even became its

During her young days.

President.
By the time she was 13 years old, Elaine was confirmed as a member of the Lutheran Church she attended. At the age of 19 she met and married her husband of 51 years, Eric Grannum, a fellow Lutheran. Their union produced four children, Kay, Owen, Michelle and Nigel.
Since she was barely an adult when she became a wife, understandably it was quite challenging at times when motherhood soon followed. This meant that some days she couldn’t even attend church. But to her, losing sight of her faith was never remotely an option. She remained steadfast. “Having young children sometimes it was hard to remain active in the church but this had become part of me and somehow I knew it was my calling to work in the church,” she related.
Moreover, when the St. Mary’s Lutheran Church later merged with the Redeemer Lutheran Church at Campbellville, she and her family moved right along.
It was no surprise that she joined the Women’s Group and continued to be quite active in the work of the church. In fact, she even decided to join the church’s Lay Academy programme that was designed to prepare persons for higher calling.

HIGHER CALLING
The Lay Programme, she explained, had become imperative, since the church was short of

Happily married after 51 years.

ministers and depended a great deal on foreigners to take up the slack.
“They were like the backbone of the church, along with a few local pastors and even fewer deacons,” recalled Grannum.
Given her years of experience in the church and her dedication to service, Grannum was encouraged to take this path, since she was seen as a viable candidate.
The programme lasted the better part of two years and at the end, Grannum passed with a distinction and was quickly appointed a deaconess. She was well versed in the Lutheran doctrine, and thus could easily prepare a sermon when called upon. She had the ability to perform a number of tasks that ranged from presiding over funeral services to birthday parties and even baptisms as well. She did just about everything a Minister could, save and except for performing marriage ceremonies.
Grannum was well on her way to becoming a full-fledged Minister. But she couldn’t follow through. This was in light of the fact that she simply didn’t sense that that was her calling. Instead, she gravitated to initiatives such as the Church Women United, an international movement that was adopted locally, and saw women of various Christian denominations coming together to spearhead activities that targeted the vulnerable of society.

A member of the World Day of Prayer Committee.

One of the most outstanding activities the movement took on was that of a child project intended to help guide less fortunate youths to a path of success. Grannum, as a member of the Kitty/Campbellville Chapter of the Church Women United initiative, vividly recalled that the first child project the group took on was that of supporting and monitoring a young girl who was able to eventually join the nursing profession.
“We have helped many young people, some who passed Common Entrance for instance and their families hadn’t the finances for them to continue their high school education. We help in whatever way we can. We would support them so that they can succeed…As we helped them, we would monitor them and see where they end up,”Grannum related.
But this movement has not been the only focus of this faith-driven woman, as she has for many years been a part of the World Day of Prayer International movement. Understandably she has over the years adopted a passion for praying.

PRAYERFUL ATTITUDE
According to Grannum, prayer has been particularly important to her very existence.

On her wedding day.

“I have been able to prove God over and over…in all the years of my marriage and family life, I have been able to pray and see things happen for me. God has seen me and my family through many things,” Grannum intimated. But she confided that she has also learnt that sometimes the Creator’s answer is not always the one that is desired.
“Once you pray and ask God for something He always answers, but His answer can be yes, no, or even not now…He answers in different ways,” she pointed out.
Although praying was long a way of life for Grannum, she found herself praying the hardest when her firstborn – Kay Grannum-Arthur – was stricken with breast cancer. Her daughter had married and moved to Maryland in the United States where she was diagnosed with the dreadful affliction. She passed away two years ago.
But Grannum was convinced that prayers would have ensured her daughter was able to beat cancer altogether.
“It was my desire, and my entire family’s desire, for her to live, and that is exactly what I prayed for…we all prayed for that, but it was God’s desire to take her home,” said Grannum as she recalled her daughter departing to the great beyond three days shy of her 49th birthday.
Grannum divulged that it was during that especially difficult time of her life that she found renewed strength. She credits this to witnessing how her daughter became a fighter and unreservedly cast all her cares on the Creator.
“From the time she was diagnosed to the day she died, she never lost sight of God…she held on to the end…for four years after being diagnosed she never one day let go,” Grannum recalled.. “Seeing my daughter’s faith grow through it all is what helped me stand up at her funeral and give a tribute, sing a song, and believe in my heart that God was still there. No mother would want her child to go through an aggressive cancer where the doctors can’t do anything for her. No mother would want to see her daughter die after fighting for so long, but no mother would want to see her daughter continue to suffer,” Grannum reflected.

LETTING GO
According to Grannum, as much as she wanted her daughter to live, she had to accept that everything that unfolded was the will of the Creator. It was there and then that a biblical scripture that she had learnt so long ago started to make absolute sense in her life.
She recounted [Exodus 3:7] which speaks to God seeing the misery of his children and hearing their cries and deciding to intervene.
“I said to myself God must have seen Kay’s suffering and knew that it was time that he called her home,” said Grannum, as she emphasised that there is a time for everything, even letting go of loved ones. She is moreover of the belief that it is only when one decides to embrace the predestined that they can begin to see the true meaning of life.
In fact, it was only then that she truly recognised her true calling – to be a prayerful soul. She is currently a member of a prayer group because she believes that prayer changes things.
“There are all sorts of things happening, not only in our homes, but throughout our country and the world, but we can’t let those things cause us to not trust in God. He never promised that things won’t go wrong in our lives, but in the midst He is going to be there,” Grannum asserted in conclusion.