A Tribute to My Grandma

Grandma,

I grew up hearing stories from your childhood and watching both you and Grandpa care for me and the whole family. I just need to tell you how thankful I am for the Christian heritage you’ve given me. It is the most powerful influence I’ve received and it is the most important influence I desire to pass on to my children. Much like salvation, I did absolutely nothing to earn or deserve a Godly heritage. It is purely a gift; a “pearl of great price”, that I would not give away for the world!!!

Some time ago I was reading in the Old Testament and I came upon the 10 Commandments. This piece of Scripture is so common that I did not expect to experience anything new in reading it. As a relatively new parent, however, Exodus 20:5 boldly stood out:

“You shall not bow down to other gods or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

How interesting, I thought, and I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the beautiful heritage given me. At the same time, though, I questioned God about the fairness of it all. I have many Christian friends who were not blessed with generations of believers and from their perspective this Scripture probably isn’t so appealing. So, I just journalled those thoughts and waited for God to reveal His truth in His time.

He did teach me some new things in this area. I was reading a book by Beth Moore entitled Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life. Beth talked at great length about the positive and negative impact of our families upon our lives. I must share an illustration she powerfully used. It is an excerpt from It’s Always Something by the late Gilda Radner:

“When I was little, my nurse Dibby’s cousin had a dog, just a mutt, and the dog was pregnant. I don’t know how long dogs are pregnant, but she was due to have her puppies in about a week. She was out in the yard one day and got in the way of the lawn mover and her two hind legs got cut off. They rushed her to the vet and he said, “I can sew her up, or you can put her to sleep if you want, but the puppies are okay. She’ll be able to deliver the puppies.

“Dibby’s cousin said, ‘Keep her alive.’

“So the vet sewed up her backside, and over the next week the dog learned to walk. She didn’t spend any time worrying; she just learned to walk by taking two steps in the front and flipping up her backside, and then taking two steps and flipping up her backside again. She gave birth to six little puppies, all in perfect health. She nursed them and then weaned them. And when they learned to walk, they all walked like her.”

As I look at my life, my habits, my strengths and weaknesses, and even my physical characteristics, I see my parents and I see my grandparents in many forms, even in the way I walk. I see generations of faith in God for provision, strength, guidance, and purpose in pursuing active Christian ministry. There is one significant thing, however, I do not see…. I see absolutely no negative effects of your childhood upon your life, my mom’s life, or upon my life. Your were orphaned, abused, and separated from your siblings, which by today’s standards, would give a person every “right” to be officially messed up. I see that your faith in God carried you through a very difficult childhood and fully healed your wounds. Unlike the dogs in the illustration, your children and your children’s children were taught how to walk correctly in light of the transforming power of Christ. The truth of Psalm 103:17 outshines the statistics:

“From everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children.”

My Christian heritage could have been severely limited by your perspective of life had you not given your life fully and completely to Christ for healing and transformation. Where we humans see a whole lot of hopelessness, God sees generations of faithful, fruitful believers who will impact His world and bring Him tremendous glory. The transformation can begin in any generation no matter what the circumstances.