Grandma Leaves Grandson a Bible Instead of an Inheritance

Old Lady Disinherits Grandson, Leaves Him Only a Bible & Note Saying, ‘Open It When It’s Hard’ – Story of the Day

Mike learns the startling secret contained in the Bible his late grandmother left him after years of bitterness and adversity. What begins as a reminder of their most recent altercation quickly turns into a lifeline.

Mike’s face was tired and his clothing was crumpled as he sagged behind the grocery store counter. He was surrounded by talk and the hum of scanners, but his thoughts were far else. A customer handed him a crumpled twenty, and he attempted a smile while he absently wrapped their items.

“I’m grateful. Though his days no longer felt wonderful, he said hoarsely, “Have a good day.”

Mike’s cell buzzed in his pocket as the next customer came forward. He was already aware of it.

An alert regarding an additional medical bill.

While pouring himself instant coffee earlier that morning, he had noticed one, a reminder that they were drowning in debt due to his mother’s hospital stays.

The money barely kept them afloat, even though Mike worked six days a week and occasionally doubled shifts.

Even though Kaila’s therapies were important, they felt like an anchor dragging them down as his mother’s condition worsened.

As he went out into the chilly night air at the end of his shift, Mike was worn out and his feet hurt. He walked slowly to his mother’s little, poorly lighted flat.

He saw her seated on the couch as soon as he entered, her frail and little form hidden beneath a blanket.

Mike placed his suitcase on the table and murmured, “Hey, Mom,” quietly.

Kaila gave a small smile. “How was work, sweetheart?”

“It was fine.”

“Mike, don’t work so hard. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this alone.

Mike took a deep breath. He couldn’t show her how he was being crushed by the weight.

“It’s nothing, Mom,” he said with gratitude. “I’ve got it under control.”

Even though they both knew it wasn’t true, she nodded.

Mike withdrew to his room, where his desk was heaped high with unread envelopes. He was scared to open the bills.

He pondered his life as he stood close to the window.

How could the cost of simply surviving be this high? He pondered.

The expenditures mounted more quickly than he could scrounge together, even with insurance.

He considered his meager remaining savings, which would hardly cover the rent for the following month, let alone medical expenses.

His eyes then strayed to a dusty box in the room’s corner. A Bible sat within, unopened for years.

“You had to be so petty, didn’t you, Grandma?” Mike shook his head and mumbled.

The matriarch of their family had been his grandmother, Grace. obstinate, pious, and steadfast in her beliefs.

When Mike was a teenager, she would plead with him to go to church with her every Sunday, but he would never listen. His thoughts replayed their most recent altercation as vividly as if it had just occurred.

Six years have passed since then.

Mike, who had just turned eighteen, was focused on having a good time with his buddies during the weekend. He was not going to be in the church on another Sunday morning.

“Michael,” Grace remarked severely as she stood in his room’s doorway. She was wearing her Sunday best, with her Bible tucked under her arm and her huge handbag in her hand. “It’s time for church.”

Mike remained glued to his phone. “Gramma, I’m not going. I have plans already.

“Plans?” Grace’s voice lifted. “What plans could be more important than spending time with the Lord?”

“I’m 18 now,” Mike acknowledged. “I am capable of making my own choices. I refuse to spend any more Sundays cooped up in church, listening to sermons.

“That is absurd. As if she were going to drag him out herself, Grace commanded, “Get up, put on a clean shirt, and come with me.”

“No! I refuse to go. Mike lost his temper. Why are you unable to simply let me live my life? I’m fed up with you treating me like the worst person in the world because I don’t want to spend my days at church.”

“Michael, I’m attempting to save your soul. You’ll thank me for this one day.”

Mimicking, “Yeah, well, I’m good,” Mike said. “I’m not in need of saving. Just give me some space!”

“Is that so?” Silently, Grace said. “All right. I’ll stop coming if this is how you feel. Michael, I’m not going to talk to you again.”

Surprised, Mike froze for a moment. However, in his adolescent conceit, he dismissed it. Fantastic. After that, we both receive what we desire.

Without saying another word, she slammed the door behind her and walked out.

Grace died of natural causes two months later.

Her funeral was a somber, dark, and chilly day. On the inside, it was just like Mike.

As mourners crowded the pews, he stood close to the rear of the chapel, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.

He saw the crowd enter slowly. Everyone was present, including the churchgoers she loved so much, her neighbors, and old friends.

Mike felt uncomfortable, like a stranger showing up at a private party. As he walked by, he hardly gave the coffin a glance.

“She loved you, you know,” a woman in her later years remarked gently, gently touching his arm.

Mike looked in her direction.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

He was at a loss for words.

The priest spoke at the service about Grace’s commitment to the church, her deep faith, and her love for her family no matter what, especially in difficult times.

As Mike became aware of what the cosmos was attempting to tell him, he shifted uneasily in his chair.

Even at difficult times, she adored you.

Mike’s stomach knotted as the casket was lowered into the earth. Before she passed away, he had not spoken to her for months, and he would never be able to again.

He whispered to himself, “I should’ve just gone to church,” as the mourners started to leave.

Kaila listened and gave him a light squeeze on the arm. “Mike, she knew you loved her. She was aware.

But Mike couldn’t stop thinking about how he hadn’t been there when it counted most as he gazed at the piece of ground where his grandma now lay.

His bitterness only came to the surface during the will reading. In the lawyer’s office, Mike sat rigidly as his mother, Kaila, tried to relax next to him.

The attorney cleared his throat. “To Grace’s beloved church, she leaves her entire estate, including her home and all financial assets.”

Mike’s mouth fell open. “Wait, what?”

The attorney didn’t hesitate. “To her grandson, Michael, she leaves a Bible with a personal note that reads, ‘Open it when it’s hard.’”

“A Bible?” Mike said it again. “That’s it?”

“Yes,” the attorney said as he pushed the battered leather-bound book in his direction.

Mike gazed at it as if it were toxic. “She left me nothing else?”

“Correct,” the attorney replied.

Mike’s voice was harsh as he tightened his hands. “Just because I didn’t accompany her to church one day? “Really?”

Kaila touched her son on the arm. “Mike…”

“No, Mom, this is ridiculous!” Mike spit out.

Without looking, he snatched up the Bible, stuffed it into his bag, and hurried out of the office.

He hadn’t bothered to open the Bible back then. Rather, he simply buried it under other items and kept it in a box.

He was thinking about that old Bible and its mysterious note now, six years later, while his mother’s health was failing and his bills were piling up.

“Well, Grandma,” Mike said sourly as he got up and moved to the room’s corner. “Times don’t get much harder than this.”

He continued to pick up the boxes till he came to the Bible box. After removing it, he carried it back to the couch.

Then, for the first time since her funeral, he glanced at the note.

The words, “Open it when it’s hard,” he said quietly out loud. “You old lady, you’re foolish. You were so petty, yet I loved you.”

He opened the Bible for the first time and shook his head, his voice seizing in his throat.

Before Grace had handed it to him, the leather had been used for years and was dry and cracked. Something odd drew his attention as he began to turn the pages.

Something appeared to be hidden between the pages. Mike turned a page out of curiosity and was frozen by what he saw.

He was staring back at two clean $100 bills.

He exhaled, “What the…”

He flipped through another page. Additional bills. The Bible spilled hundreds of dollars page after page. Mike eventually discovered that his grandma had concealed hundreds of dollars in the Bible’s pages.

Mike spread the cash on his bed with trembling hands. His face was wet with tears.

He muttered, “Oh God, Grandma,” as he gazed at the ceiling. “What kept you from telling me? How come you didn’t just say something?

Memories flooded back as he sobbed.

He recalled Grace’s soft hands, her kind smile, and her voice as she sang Sunday morning songs. He recalled how, as a teenager, he would complain about her reading Bible passages to him when he was younger. He reflected on the altercation and the years he had spent bitterly opposing her.

“I’m sorry, Grandma,” he stifled. “I’m so sorry.”

The funds were more than sufficient to pay for his mother’s medical care. After gathering the bills, Mike rushed to the hospital to Kaila’s room.

Apart from the low hum of fluorescent lights and the beeping of machinery, Kaila’s room was silent. Mike rushed in, his face hot, and she gently turned her head.

Startled, she said, “Mike?” “What’s wrong?”

Grasping her hand, he fell onto the chair next to her bed. He smiled through his tears and added, “Mom, you’re not going to believe this.” “Grandma saved us.”

“What?”

Her Bible was more than just a Bible. She—she concealed cash within it. “Mom, thousands of dollars!”

Kaila’s gaze expanded. “Thousands of dollars?”

For us, she left it. For me. She knew I would eventually need it. He looked at the ceiling as his voice broke. “That stubborn old woman saved us.”

Kaila’s pale face brightened as she laughed softly. She remarked, “That sounds exactly like Grace,” with affection. “She always knew what she was doing.”

Mike wiped away his tears. “Mom, I didn’t deserve it. Even after I mistreated her, she—”

Kaila gave his hand a squeeze. “Mike, your grandmother loved you without conditions. That is the essence of true love.

“I don’t know if I can ever make it up to her,” he muttered below his breath.

“My dear, you already are. You are here to help me in whatever way you can. Grace would be pleased.

Kaila’s therapy started to show results over the course of the following few months. Mike was able to reduce his demanding hours and pay off the impending hospital fees.

Now that he was less stressed, he began to consider his future.

He soon discovered a part-time accounting course. He had always desired it but had never been able to buy it.