Yesterday, I Cried_ Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving - Iyanla Vanzant [23]
“I’m gonna scrub the devil out you!” she’d say. “I’m gonna wash this devil spirit away!” Then she’d begin to pray. The more she prayed, the harder she scrubbed. The harder she scrubbed, the more Rhonda whimpered. The more Rhonda whimpered, the louder Grandma sang. “Pleading the blood of Jesus! I’m pleading the blood to wash away your sins!” It was a ritual between Grandma and Rhonda, and it never stopped until Rhonda prayed out loud, “Please, God! Tell Grandma I’m sorry!” Sometimes, if Rhonda prayed loud enough or fast enough, Grandma would take pity on her. Most of the time, however, Grandma kept scrubbing and praying and singing until she saw the red of Rhonda’s blood mixed in with the lather from the brown soap.
When the bath was over, Grandma would rub Rhonda down in mutton tallow, a thick yellow substance made from the inside of a lamb’s skin. Over time, Rhonda figured out that using mutton tallow was Grandma’s attempt to hide the scars and bruises from the brush. Grandma called it “waterproofing.” “It’s gonna rain today, and you don’t want to catch a cold.” She would then smear the tallow all over Rhonda’s body while she hummed her favorite hymns. Though Rhonda would be sore and battered from the bath, she was glad to have somebody touch her in a somewhat gentle manner. The gentleness with which the foul smelling mutton tallow was applied to her battered body was an answer to at least one of Rhonda’s prayers.
Dear God:
Please let the rain wash away the pain.
It is a fact of life that grandmothers know everything. And Rhonda’s grandma was no exception. She was mean as hell, but she sure knew a lot. Grandma knew most about herbs. Over the years, Rhonda watched her use them in the most amazing ways. She knew how to mix them, how to cook them, how to rub them on various parts of the body, and which ones you could use or not use to make tea. At the time, Rhonda didn’t know that Grandma was a Native American of Cherokee and Blackfoot heritage. But she learned more about Grandma and what she knew about herbs and healing when they went to Grandma’s hometown of Smithfield, Virginia, to save Aunt Mattie’s life.
Rhonda awoke one morning to find Grandma sitting in her chair at the kitchen window. This morning, there was something different. The sounds were different. There was the sound of the chair creaking as it struggled under Grandma’s weight. That was different. Then there were the haunting grunting and moaning sounds spilling out of Grandma’s mouth.
Grandma was so engrossed in what she was feeling and doing, she didn’t even look at Rhonda when she passed by on the way to the bathroom. She didn’t even ask Rhonda if she had her slippers on. Rhonda stood frozen in the doorway for a long time, watching her grandmother tremble, moan, and cry. In the early morning sunlight, Rhonda could see tears rolling down her grandmother’s face. That, too, was different. Grandma’s prayer time was usually her most peaceful time. Grandma crying? This was amazingly different! No. This was a problem! Grandma never cried. Never! Just as Rhonda was beginning to panic, Grandma’s eyes flew open, and she turned to face the frightened child.
“Do you have your slippers on?” Rhonda’s panic shifted into disbelief. A few minutes ago Grandma was in a trance of some kind, and now she was yelling! Her tears had seemed to dry instantly, though she never wiped her face. Now, Rhonda was crying. Her nose and eyes were running, but she managed to answer, “Yes.” Grandma got up, closed her Bible, and moved her chair, all in one swift movement. “Hurry now, go on to the bathroom. We’ve got to catch the bus to Virginia.”
Rhonda loved to go to Virginia, though she’d never mention it out loud. Grandma’s oldest brother, Uncle Jimmy, lived in Smithfield. He and his wife, Aunt Mattie, ran a successful bootlegging operation from