It was the day my daughter and son-in-love told me their home pregnancy test was positive that I first understood what it means to be a member of the exclusive, extraordinary club called “Grandmotherhood.” Like all grandmas, I was filled with an enormous sense of wonder for what God had in store for this precious new life. I wanted to tell the world or at least five of my close friends that my daughter was having a daughter of her own. No wonder my already-members-of-the-club friends knew I just didn’t get it. There were no words to describe my elation.
My heart, however, was not emotionally prepared for the many good-byes I would experience over the next few years with three of my grandkids who live a great distance from me. Sometimes I miss them till I ache, especially after sweet visits of sharing laughter and building memories. There are always tearful goodbyes.
It was after one such especially joyful visit that I sat blinking back tears in my assigned seat, 17C; exit row. That’s exactly what I longed to do. Exit the airplane. Our visit had been far too short.
Everything within me wanted to run back down the jet way to my precious granddaughter Ellie’s outstretched arms. Only as I’d rounded the last curve in the security line did I dare look back toward my daughter holding her. Tightly clutched in the pink blanket I’d made for her that trip, Ellie spontaneously flung herself forward in my direction and began to wail, as if pleading, “Nana, why can’t I come with you?” Wiping her eyes, the security screener told me she couldn’t watch the scene any longer; she had to look away.
On that flight home, I held on to a picture of Ellie like a life preserver. To someone who is not yet a grandmother, the only way I could describe it is like falling in love again. Living hundreds of miles away from my first grandchild was not easy. The aching loneliness to hold or tuck her into bed at night under the soft, pink fleece blanket is ever present.
But, from my experience that day, I had a flash of Godly inspiration that has changed everything for me as a grandmother. As I watched two little waving hands grow smaller and smaller as I walked down the terminal, I sensed God’s reassurance in my heart: “No matter how great the distance, Sharon, through Me there are loving ways you can blanket your grandchildren in love each and every day. It was one of those pay-attention-to God moments. Right there in my exit row, I scribbled down the word blanket on my airline napkin. With a heartfelt determination I vowed then and there to cover my grandchildren with valuable truths that each letter stood for – to instill in them something much bigger than the here and now. My legacy to them would be imparting assurances of my love and faith in God, as in the following acronym:
B – Bathe your grandchildren in prayer
L – Love, live, and laugh often with your grands
A – Accept, affirm, and appreciate each grandchild unconditionally
N – Never give up on your grandchildren – or their parents
K – Keep expressing reassurances of your love
E – Establish your own style of grandmothering
T - Take the time to leave a spiritual legacy
Funny, how one word changed the direction of the rest of my life that day. But, it has. Forever. It is my prayer that it will do the same for you. I’ve heard many grown-ups say, looking back over their lives, that a special grandmother was the guiding light of their lives. We can be that in our grandchildren’s lives. Covering our precious ones with a love that’s wrapped in fervent prayer can make a tremendous difference for today and all eternity. Encouraging, inspiring, praying, being there, affirming … loving.
This world could use a lot more women like that. And I’ll bet there’s a child in your life who could use a grandma like that; I know there is in mine.
Sharon Hoffman
Making an Eternal Difference in the Lives of Your Grandchildren
It was the day my daughter and son-in-love told me their home pregnancy test was positive that I first understood what it means to be a member of the exclusive, extraordinary club called “Grandmotherhood.” Like all grandmas, I was filled with an enormous sense of wonder for what God had in store for this precious new life. I wanted to tell the world or at least five of my close friends that my daughter was having a daughter of her own. No wonder my already-members-of-the-club friends knew I just didn’t get it. There were no words to describe my elation.
My heart, however, was not emotionally prepared for the many good-byes I would experience over the next few years with three of my grandkids who live a great distance from me. Sometimes I miss them till I ache, especially after sweet visits of sharing laughter and building memories. There are always tearful goodbyes.
It was after one such especially joyful visit that I sat blinking back tears in my assigned seat, 17C; exit row. That’s exactly what I longed to do. Exit the airplane. Our visit had been far too short.
Everything within me wanted to run back down the jet way to my precious granddaughter Ellie’s outstretched arms. Only as I’d rounded the last curve in the security line did I dare look back toward my daughter holding her. Tightly clutched in the pink blanket I’d made for her that trip, Ellie spontaneously flung herself forward in my direction and began to wail, as if pleading, “Nana, why can’t I come with you?” Wiping her eyes, the security screener told me she couldn’t watch the scene any longer; she had to look away.
On that flight home, I held on to a picture of Ellie like a life preserver. To someone who is not yet a grandmother, the only way I could describe it is like falling in love again. Living hundreds of miles away from my first grandchild was not easy. The aching loneliness to hold or tuck her into bed at night under the soft, pink fleece blanket is ever present.
But, from my experience that day, I had a flash of Godly inspiration that has changed everything for me as a grandmother. As I watched two little waving hands grow smaller and smaller as I walked down the terminal, I sensed God’s reassurance in my heart: “No matter how great the distance, Sharon, through Me there are loving ways you can blanket your grandchildren in love each and every day. It was one of those pay-attention-to God moments. Right there in my exit row, I scribbled down the word blanket on my airline napkin. With a heartfelt determination I vowed then and there to cover my grandchildren with valuable truths that each letter stood for – to instill in them something much bigger than the here and now. My legacy to them would be imparting assurances of my love and faith in God, as in the following acronym:
B- Bathe your grandchildren in prayer
L- Love, live, and laugh often with your grands!
A- Accept, affirm, and appreciate each grandchild unconditionally
N- Never give up on your grandchildren – or their parents
K- Keep expressing reassurances of your love
E- Establish your own style of grandmothering
T- Take the time to leave a spiritual legacy
Funny, how one word changed the direction of the rest of my life that day. But, it has. Forever. It is my prayer that it will do the same for you. I’ve heard many grown-ups say, looking back over their lives, that a special grandmother was the guiding light of their lives. We can be that in our grandchildren’s lives. Covering our precious ones with a love that’s wrapped in fervent prayer can make a tremendous difference for today and all eternity. Encouraging, inspiring, praying, being there, affirming … loving.
This world could use a lot more women like that. And I’ll bet there’s a child in your life who could use a grandma like that; I know there is in mine.
Sharon Hoffman
