The Joy of Being a Grandpa

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5)

I have been reminded recently of the humorous statement that says: "If I had known that grandchildren were so much fun, I would have had them first!" Our oldest daughter has just come down from Virginia for a visit, bringing with her our youngest daughter and her three children who are visiting from California. Not only are Bev and I enjoying spending time with our daughters again and seeing them together, but we are reveling in the pleasure of being "Bebe" and "Pop" to three of our nine grandchildren. If parenting is a wonderful gift from God, beloved, and certainly the psalmist made it clear that it is, then being a grandparent is the icing on top of the cake!

In the verses above the psalmist declared boldly that when it comes to children "blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." I have never met a granddad or grandmom who was not immensely proud of their grandkids, and I can assure you that Bev and I do nothing at all to change that statistic! Tomorrow we are to travel back to Virginia with our daughters and three grandchildren to spend time with our son and his family as well. For the first time in quite a long time we will be together with all three of our children and all nine of our grandchildren! So you can see that to Bev and me, children are definitely a gift of the Lord.

Today I had the pleasure of taking these three grandkids to a driving range and letting them do what they have wanted to do since they arrived - hit golf balls! When we got home, I had to make a quick run to the recycling center to drop off some accumulated cardboard. Only the youngest and oldest wanted to make that trip with me, so off we went. On the way back home, I listened intently as they sang to each other in the back seat. And what were they singing? The books of the Bible in sequential order! Both Old and New Testament books and they did not miss a single one. Want to know if this old grandfather-preacher was proud? You know it! What is such a blessing to my heart, beloved, is the knowledge that my grandchildren, not only these three, but all nine of them, are being raised in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. The psalmist said here that parents will have no reason to be ashamed, even in the presence of their enemies. Our children are not only fully committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but they are clearly training our grandchildren to know Him personally and to love and serve Him as well.

So this week's blog is a little bit more on the personal side, I know, but I just wanted to share my heart with you, not so much as a preacher, but as a father and grandfather who is so very thankful for the blessings of God. For Bev and I, our "quiver" is full and we could not possibly be happier. To God be the glory!

Ron