The Camel on the Stable Roof

Few bouts of marathon training have been as rigorous as a few weeks ago.  I  lifted heavy weights, spent hours scaling flights of stairs up and down and up again, crawled long distances on my hands and knees, and had the time of my life.

Our grand kids were in town for a few days, and I was full-throttle in the gramma mode.  There is nothing better than that.  Our 20 month old grandson redecorated the bottom two feet of the Christmas tree every morning.  His little toy truck was parked in front of the manger set.  The camel was perched on the stable roof, and a plastic Snoopy toy stood reverently next to one of the shepherds.

One afternoon, our three year old granddaughter sat at the kitchen table, eating a snack of oyster crackers and shredded cheese, asking four million questions a minute, most of which started with "why, Gramma?"  We talked about hungry birds and greedy squirrels and what bacon looks like.  We made peanut butter cookies and watched Veggie Tales, snuggling on the couch. Together we constructed a gingerbread house our of graham crackers.  Evergreen trees were made of ice cream cones and green frosting.  Red and green sprinkles spread across the counter.  Our house was a wreck.  And at night, we all fell exhausted in bed. Mornings came far too early.

Little, if any, will these children remember at this age, doing the puzzles, going to the farm zoo in twenty degree weather, eating chocolate Cheerios, and playing tea party in the attic.   They may not remember the activities, but as the years progress, they will know what love feels like.  They will not care about any accomplishments in my life as much as how much I love them.

When our oldest grandchild was born, I held that little baby girl in my arms, moved visibly by a daunting responsibility.  The Bible speaks of our faithfulness to the generations to come.  Everything I have done, everything that I do will directly impact the life of this tiny baby.  I take seriously what I pass on to her, and to the children of the furthest generation, that they will know the LORD and place their hope in Him.  We will tell them about the wondrous love of God and how He sent His son Jesus.  But I realize that they will only know that He is true if it is lived out before them -- what they see, what they hear, and what grace they know. 

One generation shall laud Your works to another
and shall declare Your mighty acts.
                    Psalm 145.4