Thoughts
The Living Years
Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.’”
Mark 10: 14-16 (NIV)
Her birthday was yesterday.
Our eldest granddaughter, Hannah.
And we were there the day she was born twenty-four years ago.
Our youngest granddaughter’s nineteenth birthday will be next month.
Ellie. And we were there the day she was born.
Their Mimi and I have picture albums, notes, electronic recordings, paintings, cards, and books of the moments of their lives occupying shelves, walls, cabinets, drawers, and boxes throughout our home. And trip records of the hundreds of thousands of miles traveled to be with them.
Precious memories of many sacred moments through the years which have seemed to fly by.
The first time their Mimi, my bride, Lynda, held each of them in her arms, she said all she could remember from each moment was— “You took my breath away!”
There are no more important moments through the years we are blessed and committed to live here on earth, than in the moments we have spent with the sacred trusts of our children, and our grandchildren.
The remembrance yesterday of the celebration of Hannah’s birth, twenty-four years ago, reminds me again of our hearts as grandparents to our two girls, captured in the words from the “The Stackhouse Filibuster” episode of the West Wing TV series, spoken by another truly blessed and committed grandparent, when President Bartlett (played by Martin Sheen) says—
“Where grandchildren are involved, one should not mess with grandparents, for they will go anywhere, do anything, face any adversity, defend against any or anything that would do them harm, climb any mountain and swim any sea for their grandchildren.”
President Josiah Bartlett
How I wish that were the case for children everywhere.
That every child, everywhere, of any age, would have someone in their life who feels that child is a precious gift of God—a child who “takes their breath away.”
Just one person who would hold them in their arms and bless them every moment of their life. How I wish that were the case for children everywhere, and also for adults, everywhere.
May I be so bold as to ask—Why not?
The child you find who “takes your breath away” will never be the same, and neither will you.
Just something for us to think about.
Something for us to embrace and not miss, today and every day as we live out the rest of the years of our lives.
In all the important blessings and moments of all our living years, here.
Happy Birthday, precious Hannah.
Happy Birthday.
And thank you, Lord, for the sacred gift of her life to us.
She still “takes our breath away!”
In His Name–Scott (Gran)
Enjoy this video and song of the classic song “The Living Years” by Mike & the Mechanics.
Recent Thoughts
Got this Friend?
For all of you who aspire one day to be paperboys or papergirls, remember this—when collecting on your paper route, avoid the area where your friends and the Good Humor ice cream truck are located—at least until you’ve had a chance to count how much money you really have to spend on ice cream for one-and-all gathered.
Peace in Our Storms
That’s the peace of God which is available for us. No matter the storms we find ourselves in the middle of—His peace is still there for us to center and rest ourselves within. And that must be our focus—to be able to accept, no matter what may be happening in our lives—that His peace and His presence will always be there, and will always prevail.
A Time to Rise Again
Yesterday I paused to listen to Tom Ridge, former Governor of Pennsylvania and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security, share in the dedication of the “Tower of Voices” memorial erected in Shanksville, Pennsylvania remembering the moment seventeen years ago, where and when United Flight 93 went down killing forty passengers and crew members.