Felix Culpa
When I was a little tyke, I would sit with my Grandpa in church and play with his thumb because it had a funny looking wart on the side. Also because I was bored, but that’s beside the point. I don’t have a thumb wart. But a few weeks ago in church, Jack sat with me and played with my pinky ring that his Poppy gave me for Christmas last year. And I thought how fortunate I am to continue the tradition. Not of wart picking or ring wringing, but of going to God’s house every Sunday and learning of Christ, and how to love Christ and others as Christ does. Jack seemed bored, just as I was as a kid. But you never know what is or isn’t sinking in. Kids pick up more than they put on.
There was a picture of a cross on the overhead as we prayed for the persecuted church. Jack seemed taken with it, so he found a cross (the letter T) on his worksheet and traced it. He showed it to me, pointed at the cross on the screen, then back to the T. He smiled. I smiled. I have no idea what he thinks the cross means at this young juncture in his life. But I know he’s thinking, I know his parents are teaching. And his Marmee is praying for clarity of mind, acceptance in his heart, and a desire to pass the love of Christ on to his own kids and grandkids.
My pinky ring? The setting is itty bitty diamonds shaped in a figure 8. It’s path is unending. I hope that for our faith. That it will be unending and God will continue it in our family — not just through Jack, but through Auggie Fynn, Everlee, and Todd. I watch them all and think It’ll take a miracle! And it will. But that miracle has already taken place. It’s called the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Trusting Him to do the ultimate work of salvation is hard. When I babysit, I’m always anxiously thinking So you wanna accept Jesus today?
How ’bout now?
Now?
NOW!?
No? Okay, I’ll check back in an hour.
In reality, I just pray and interject Sunday School lessons and sum up catechisms as I have opportunity. For example, when one grandkid bonks another grandkid on the head, I just say “Hey, you just bonked God’s good creation on the head. What do you think God thinks about that?” What else can a Marmee do besides point them to God, pray, and feed them corn dogs and cookies?
I love this calling in my life called grandparenting, but it’s hard, unending work. I’m thankful the spiritual growth of my grandkids is not all up to me. The work I do is important, but Christ’s work is most important, and He is sovereign over the ultimate work of justification, sanctification, and glorification. I rest in that … most of the time. Sometimes I give myself a gut ache or a migraine worrying about how little stony hearts will ever be made fleshy. But I force myself to put the breaks on destructive worry warting. I work. He works. Without Him, nothing will be accomplished. With Him, all things are possible.
It’s as simple – and difficult – as that.
I love this calling in my life called grandparenting, but it’s hard, unending work. I’m thankful the spiritual growth of my grandkids is not all up to me. The work I do is important, but Christ’s work is most important, and He is sovereign over the ultimate work of justification, sanctification, and glorification. I rest in that … most of the time. Sometimes I give myself a gut ache or a migraine worrying about how little stony hearts will ever be made fleshy. But I force myself to put the breaks on destructive worry warting. I work. He works. Without Him, nothing will be accomplished. With Him, all things are possible.
It’s as simple – and difficult – as that.
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