Rainy Day Reflection

As I sit and write this on a rainy afternoon, I am reminded of my mother-in-law’s birthday. She turned 83 today. She’s lived through the Great Depression, WWII, the turmoil of the 60’s, Watergate, the advent of the Computer Age, Y2K, and the Internet. I found out recently that she’s had the same bank account for 60 years --not just the same bank, but the same bank account! That’s amazing to me.

But, what’s more amazing to me are the lives she’s seen grow up around her. She raised 6 kids and they all got married --so that’s 12 adults right there that she’s had influence over. Then each of those couples had kids of their own --13 altogether to be exact. She’s been able to see each of these grandkids grow into wonderful adults as well (the oldest is in her 40’s and the youngest is now 18!).

But wait --there’s more! After seeing her grandchildren grow up, she’s also witnessed some of them getting married and having had kids of their own --16 great-grandchildren to be exact.

And just this last year she became a great-great-grandmother as well!

All 52 lives, influenced by her, at one time or another --what a legacy!



Us with the Grandmama



As parents, sometimes we may think that our day-to-day efforts seem tedious, tiresome and never-ending. Those little times of tweaking that take place each day; times when we see a behavior pattern that needs to be re-adjusted, or choosing to sit and read a CS Lewis book out-loud to all your kids when your laundry and dishes are screaming for attention.

Rainy days are good for such reflection…….

We need to remember that we are laying a good foundation that will grow years and years from now. We have a huge influence over several generations to come; let’s take advantage of it, “redeeming the time” as the Word says.

Oh….and Happy Birthday, Mom….Mom-Mom….Grammy….Di-Di J