While on the topic of the loving bond between me and my Grandmom Gertie, which the matriarch Margie tried everything in her power to destroy. As previously described in the video titled 'what a friend we have in Jesus' the matriarch and patriarch snuffed out any hope of attending church with my Grandmom and growing up with some semblance of normalcy.
In the worldwide church of God cult, Christmas was a forbidden holiday. They denounced Christmas because of its roots in paganism, citing Jeremiah 10. Of course, they never once thought to question the overt association between ancient Hebrews and olive tree oil worship.
I saw others bonding during the Christmas holiday, but I was condemned to perpetual isolation and loneliness due to my jailkeeper parents. One autumn somewhere between late 1980s early 90s I concluded in my heart I loved my Grandmom more than the cold-blooded fanatical zealotry of my parents and would've given anything to be able to be with my Grandmom on Christmas morning to give her a gift just to say, “I love you, Grandmom!” I determined to be there, even if I couldn't. Of course, as with everything else the Matriarch limited my access to money, but I managed to scrape together about ten dollars which came from saving lunch money or perhaps selling bottles or sweeping floors. I raised ten dollars then quietly slipped over to the home of a cousin, begging them not to tell the Matriarch, but use these ten dollars to buy Grandmom a gift she would enjoy from me for Christmas.
The cousin knew my impossible circumstances. I wanted to know nothing further from my cousin. Just do the job and for God's sake, say nothing that the matriarch would learn about the gift.
Weeks passed by Christmas came. My Grandmom spent that week with my aunt. It was one of the loneliest weeks because I didn't get to spend that Friday night with her. But after Christmas had passed, Grandmom returned home, and I got to see her again. When I went over to her home that Friday evening, she came to open the door, and her eyes were bloodshot from tears. She was bawling and told me that of all the Christmas gifts she received, this one, a small gold chain with a tiny pearl droplet was the most special to her “Because she KNEW the trouble I had to go through to get it for her.”
The Matriarch regarded the act as “defiant disobedience”.
