When my grandparents sold their cabin, I claimed an old platform rocker that was situated near the large front window. The rocker was a gift given to my great great grandmother, Eliza Ann Lewis, by her brother when she married in 1893. The rocker sat in Eliza’s kitchen and while it was used as a place to sit while her hands were busy, it could also be transformed into a bassinet by well placed slats and a cushion, keeping her children close and under her nurturing care.
Though she had little opportunity for education, she had a natural aptitude in caring for the sick and was often called on in their rural community. My grandma was born in her home. A doctor attended but after he left, it was Eliza’s careful eye and quick action that cleared Grandma’s blocked airway preserving her life and all the lives that would come after.
Eliza’s presence was felt by loved ones snuggled under the beautiful quilts she made and in the homemade gingham bibs she would mail for grandchildren who lived far away.
Her presence was in her pantry full of garden fresh produce carefully preserved. It was in the plates of food her children carried from her kitchen to sick and elderly neighbors and continued in the plates of food her children carried from their kitchens to elderly and sick family and friends.
From her small, rural home in Paris, Idaho she sought to fulfill the prayer to “Remember…all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth.” (D&C 109:72)
Her daily kindness, faith, work, caring, love and generosity have rippled outward through generations as an example and witness of the love of God for His children. Though our efforts and our sphere may seem small, the Lord can cause them to “become a great mountain and fill the whole earth” with His love.