My paternal grandmother and grandfather, who lived in Mound City, Missouri, would welcome every summer visit of their four little granddaughters with a silver dollar each. “What a bargain grandchildren are! You give them your loose change, and they give us a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” (Gene Perret) I understand this so clearly now…
I am officially feeling the emptiness of grandchildren grown and leaving, one by one. Each departure comes so quickly; there is no shadow left to contemplate! Where these last twenty-four years have gone is a mystery! The fulness of “grandma life” has been nothing short of supreme joy. My grandparents had a strong influence on me. Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love and patience.
I love definitions and the one for Grandmother is “a wonderful mother with lots of practice.” As a young mother on the mission field, I never allowed myself to envision the possibility of being near my grandchildren, as they grew up. Most seasoned missionaries found their children gone and living in the U.S. or other mission fields. I knew nobody could do for little children what grandparents do. They offer unique testimony, both generational and spiritual. “One generation commends God’s works to another; they tell of His mighty acts!” (Psalm 145:4) It’s been said, “Grandparent’s sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little ones”. In truth, it’s just the opposite…these little one’s sprinkle stardust(blessings) on us, the minute they touch us and we are never the same! Grandmas hold their hands for just a little while, but their hearts forever.
Hannah Whithall Smith said that “if becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should advise every one of you straight away to become one…There is no fun for old people like it!” Becoming a grandmother is extraordinary. “One moment you are just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric!” (Pam Brown) Grandma’s are moms with lots of frosting! We are “antique little girls”, after all.
t has been a remarkable run…a distinct privilege…a high calling to have been trusted by God to be near my grandchildren from the day they were born until the day they left for Bible school, started dating seriously, got engaged, got married and now, one by one, are flying away. I am blessed to get weekly calls, texts and videos from them. Missing them is to be expected, but God’s presence is not dependent on any place or person, but on a determination to bank on the reality of His presence…He has been there all the time! (Thought from Oswald Chambers)
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
