The Red Velvet Shoe: A Ruth Bennett Story

Grandma Ruth and I sat on the floor for 3 or 4 hours, just the two of us, looking through the photo albums, dolls, dresses, and old Bibles in her wooden memory chest. I remember how the sunlight streamed through the windows of her room, and how, even though I could barely restrain my tears, I was deeply, gratefully happy for the gift of this precious TIME together.

Grandma had recently suffered a heart attack and was 90 years old at this time, living with my Aunt Karen Bennett and my Uncle Rick Bennett in Arroyo Grande. Time to focus on one adult human is a rarity in my busy life as a stay-at-home-mom, and it had taken some coordinated effort between my husband and I to arrange for me to make the drive out to the coast.

Grandma spent those hours telling me about her whole life. She told me about her mother, Rose Llaird, of whom she said “She was a dear woman and she did the best she knew how. I miss her.” She told me a little about her father, who strangely, was a professed Christian, and a Baptist, but was bitter, and often harsh with his wife and children.

Grandma Ruth told me that they were just about the poorest family in their little town in Colorado. "You just can't understand how poor we were, Sandy." 

There was hardly ever meat on their table, and it seemed like her mother just kept having more babies. Her father allowed the children to walk to the little Baptist Church most Sundays, and Ruth just loved church. She was clever, and attentive, and won awards at Sunday School for memorizing verses. Her Sunday School teachers poured love and affection into her. Sometimes there were snacks.  

One Sunday, (she was probably about 8 years old,) Ruth heard the preacher talking about the importance of becoming a Christian.

She said, “In those days, you didn’t anything without your parent’s permission, so I didn’t dare go forward that week. But I asked my mother when I got home, and she told me to ask my father. I’ll say this about him, he did tell me what to do, and he didn’t stop me. The next week, I was so happy to go to church and become a Christian that I wanted to run all the way there.”

When Ruth was about 16, she went to a young people’s Christian Camp (the only time she ever got to go to camp), and sitting around the fire ring, she dedicated her life to obedience to Jesus. She said, “I told Him- ‘You’re in charge. Whatever you want me to, I’ll do it. Whatever you tell me, I’ll do it.’ And from that day forward- I did.”

  Grandma drew a strange red velvet shoe, no more than 5 or 6 inches long, from her memory chest. “I’ve kept this a long time, Sandy. It means something special to me.”

Grandma Ruth went on to explain that shortly after she became a Christian, she went to hear a missionary speak at a different church. This missionary shared about the missionaries in China who were fighting the practice of binding the feet of little girls. The missionary showed the children the little red velvet shoe as an example of how tiny the feet of the little girls in China were expected to be.

Grandma Ruth said, “That was the day I fell in love with missions. The missionary let me take that little shoe home so I could remember to pray for the missionaries in China. I did pray for them, and I’ve kept this shoe for over 80 years.”  

I had recently been elected as CA-WMU Vice President, and Grandma told me she had once been very involved in WMU, and had once even served as her association’s representative. (No one informed her she was being nominated until after the vote had passed. Her Pastor called to congratulate her the next day and she was very surprised.)

The local WMU group at her church when she was an adult saw her leadership potential. They were the ones who encouraged her to start public speaking (launching the next 60 years of teaching Sunday School), and one of her life-long best friends was once a young lady Grandma had taught as a GA.   

 “I was involved in WMU at every church I ever went to. Until I came to a church that didn’t have it. And I never could quite understand that. Why the women didn’t want to get together to support missions anymore. But all the young women have gone to work now, and that changes things. I was really pleased when I heard that you had gotten involved with the WMU. If you’d like to have the shoe, I’d like you to have it.  I don’t think anyone else even knows about it.”

Like all precious days, this sunlit day in Grandma Ruth’s room ended. She said, “Well I figure you know just about my whole life now.”

Grandma was getting tired and I had to drive back home. I carefully took the little red velvet shoe with me.

It sits in my china cabinet and sometimes I show it to my children. I want them to know that God has had his hand on our family for over 90 years. My grandmother’s love for Jesus and for missions has spilled out into her sons, their children, and now, their children’s children.

I am so grateful for Grandma’s legacy, and for her friendship. She passed away in June of 2020. When I look around my house, I see furniture, quilts, and decorations Grandma Ruth has given me over the years. But of all the special treasures she has passed on to me, I think that little red shoe might be my favorite.

Me with Grandma Ruth Bennett in 2017. 
I am holding Juanita Ruth in my arms.