So Great a Love: The Wanda Grimes Story

By Wanda Ann Davis Grimes

Confessions of a Happy Roller

• How to overcome obstacles in your life
• How to be truly joyful inside and out
• How to kick your problems in the teeth without the use of your legs while overcoming anger towards the people who caused them
• Where to find meaning and purpose in your life while throwing self-pity in the

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685561284

Wanda Ann Davis Grimes

Wanda Davis Grimes grew up in Columbus, Georgia, where she resides in her very own home today. She can be seen twice a week in the Muscogee County jail, where she has ministered for over twenty years. In 2014, Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson proclaimed that February 4th, 2014 was Wanda Grimes Day. On this day in 2022, Wanda still works tirelessly every day, ministering and working on this book to get her word out.

Book preview

W_Grimes_5.5x8.5_Cover_Front-01.jpg

So Great a Love

Wanda Grimes

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

So Great a Love

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Howard and June Freeman Trust

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-127-7

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-128-4

Dedication

To my beloved Heavenly Father,

And to His Son Jesus, who is my Lord, Savior, Big Brother, Best Friend, and the Bridegroom of His church.

And to the Holy Spirit, my Power Partner who makes everything we do together possible.

"Come and hear, all ye that fear God,

And I will declare

what He hath done for my soul"

(Psalm 66:16).

Acknowledgements

I thank God for having His hand on me all of my life. He has been using me, this little piece of clay, to carry out His good works. Peggy Stancil, one of my wonderful home health providers, suggested that I write this book. I am grateful that she was there to encourage me. I also want to thank Wynn Butts for suggesting that I write the book. He didn’t know I was already working on it, but he helped me in ways I am very grateful for.

After having a slight stroke, the Lord told me that I needed to finish the book. However, I needed help to do it, so I prayed and asked God for some help. A miracle soon followed.

Alex Summers saw my story on the Internet, and he came to my home and asked if I needed help. He worked with me for a couple of months, doing community service. Then Katherine (KK) Jenkins came and helped me by typing the next part of the book. KK, along with Kelyn Hammonds and Kara Hammonds, did what needed to be done to finish it, and I appreciate them more than they will ever know.

I also want to thank Miss Jean Copeland and Elaine Johnson for editing, and my mother, who helped gather and compile the photos and captions. Thanks to Brad Wheeler and Diversified Printing for getting the book ready for printing. Special thanks to Bert Harrelson and my cousin Donna Ogburn Frazier for working with the pictures.

And for everyone who has been touched by life in big and small ways, I am grateful.

—Wanda Davis Grimes

Foreword

I will never forget the first conversation I had with Wanda Grimes one evening in the summer of 2000. I had seen her many times in our church, but somehow I had convinced myself to believe her mind was as paralyzed as her body. I quickly realized that there was indeed something very different about Wanda, something that had nothing to do with a disease or a wheelchair. It had to do with the way her eyes lit up when she talked about how much she loved Jesus and how the cadence of her speech changed when she talked about how Jesus loved her. That night I was amazed to find an extremely articulate woman who had a more vibrant relationship with Jesus than any person I had ever met. That amazement has only grown over the last sixteen years as I have come to know Wanda very closely. She has become a spiritual mother to me. I pray you will meet the Wanda I know and love in the pages of this book and get a glimpse of her indomitable spirit. James writes, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2–4, NIV). Wanda personifies these verses! She has overcome insurmountable obstacles in answering the call of Christ. Cerebral palsy, countless surgeries, a stroke, and her daily companion of pain would give most of us ample reasons to stay home and feel sorry for ourselves. But for Wanda, it is merely unthinkable that we would not obey Jesus and go into all the world and preach the gospel. She is a tireless soul-winner and a true ambassador for the cause of Christ, and she does it all with unspeakable Joy! Wanda is also a talented writer. You will read a poem in this book that Wanda penned in honor of one of her teachers who inspired her to never give up. One part reads, I remember, then a good teacher and friend and how we would start our days. I don’t say, ‘I can’t’ too much anymore, but if I ever do, I remember my friend who said, ‘Yes, you can.’ I think, my friend, of you. For me, that teacher has been Wanda Grimes. I pray this book will bless you a fraction of the way her life has blessed me and impacted all who know her.

—Pastor Paul Thomas

Lead Pastor of Evangel Temple F

Contents

Chapter 1. Somewhat Similar, Yet Not at All the Same 1

Chapter 2. How It All Began 5

Chapter 3. Ready, Set, Go 15

Chapter 4. Hemlock Drive and 38th Street 25

Chapter 5. Aid More and More 39

Chapter 6. Back Home Again 48

Chapter 7. Hello Daddy Harlin and Friends 55

Chapter 8. Ow! That Hurt, but Thanks for All

the Help 69

Chapter 9. The Texas Miracle 77

Chapter 10. Oh, Daddy! Oh, Mama! Oh, Jason! 81

Chapter 11. Long Road through the Salt Mines 87

Chapter 12. Jail Stories 134

Chapter 13. Bye My Love, See You Later 150

Eternal Life 160

Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc.

by Neil Richardson 164

Chapter 1

Somewhat Similar, Yet Not at All the Same

I want to scream, for I have just finished a project I really wanted to complete, reading on the Internet the life and personal letters of Anne Sullivan Macy, the life-long teacher of Helen Keller.

I really admired and felt sorry for her. I found myself rooting for her to overcome the realities of visual impairment and some terrible childhood experiences spent in an institution for the poor, handicapped, and insane. She saw a lot of terrible, sickening things that unsaved and insane people can do to each other.

She got an official to send her to a school for the blind and visually impaired and so walked out of what she thought was hell with the help of God, who loved her; God, whom, to all appearances, she never knew.

It hurt me to the point of screaming as I read of her painful longing for love and lack of fulfillment despite such notable achievements. She had no desire to go to heaven as she conceived it to be. She was content to believe that death was eternal.

As I hurt for a woman that movies had called The Miracle Worker, I felt my Savior’s loving touch and heard Him repeat promises that had made me strong:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

I will pray to the Father and He will give you another Comforter (One just like me), that He may abide with you forever. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you (John 14:16, 18).

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).

I, in no way, want to minimize or make light of Mrs. Macy’s suffering. I know it was an awful nightmare. However, I, too, am handicapped and have lived through some awful nightmares myself.

Still, I am one of the most joyful, most grateful people I know. The difference is only one thing, one blessed, blessed person! The difference is that I know Jesus. I really gave myself to Him, and He gave Himself to me.

I wanted to shout so loudly that the dead could hear it, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Oh, if Anne Sullivan Macy had known and applied that! How different, how much richer her life would have been!

I first met my biblical friend and mentor, David, in the Bible storybook. I was four or five years old. David was a teenager facing an ungodly giant with a slingshot in his hand and the knowledge of God in his heart.

Like David, I trembled with anger at the things Goliath was saying. With him, I said, How dare that ungodly Philistine defy the armies of the living God!

Among many other things, David said:

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee. I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

For though hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.

Psalm 9:1–2, 4

Again, I say, Oh, how I wish Anne Sullivan Macy had known and enjoyed that truth. I wish everybody in the world knew it. I endeavor to tell people that and many other life-changing truths from the living God. I teach the Bible and share experiences to show how it works.

About David’s poetry, I say, Atta boy, say it again. I still agree with you!

As the years passed and I read the Bible, I found I had much in common with David. We both loved God. We believed He could do anything, and we could do anything because of Him. We both did things wrong. We really hurt over our sins, and we were sorry that we had hurt our God. We asked for forgiveness and got it. We both were troubled by people who were troubled by Satan and sought God strongly for help to forgive them.

David particularly wanted to love and forgive King Saul, and he succeeded at it so well that I greatly admire him and long to do as well with anyone who gives me pain. God will continue to help me do that! David and I both expressed our love for God and our need for Him through the use of worship poetry.

Chapter 2

How It All Began

God’s plan for me and all mankind began before the foundation of the world.

I seemed to be in a hurry to begin playing my part in the plan. I arrived two and a half months before anyone expected to see me. Mother had been a teenage bride and was, at the time, only seventeen.

Having had no prior experience, when the pains began, she had no idea it was labor. It was much too early, but Grandmother’s friend and neighbor, Mrs. Willa Bailey, confirmed that Mom was indeed in labor, so off we all sped to Nazarene Hospital on the corner of 4th Avenue and 14th Street in Columbus, Georgia.

How appropriate the name of the hospital was since the person it was named after would mean so much to me.

We were all in Columbus, Georgia. I heard that Daddy’s widowed mother in Graceville, Florida, cried when they called her because they said I weighed only two pounds and three ounces. I had pinpoint bleeds on the brain and was not expected to live.

High tech, intensive care nurseries had never even been conceived in 1946. They put me in an incubator. One day, the doctor told Daddy to go get me some whiskey. My shocked young father resisted, but the doctor was adamant. If you want this baby to live, you’d better go get some whiskey! I guess they used it as a stimulant.

It is so funny to me! Other than that unusual medicine, I have had three swallows of wine. The first was at a neighbor’s New Year’s Eve party. At fourteen, I was allowed to have a swallow in my parents’ presence, just to see what it tasted like. I later took a swallow of champagne at a party for the same reason.

The third swallow of wine was because