Romans 3:22-24
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Recently, our youngest granddaughter, Alexandra Nancy, has learned to say, "Uh-oh!" when she drops a toy or sees one of her older sisters do the same. Such a huge step in her development! Although there is a part of this Gammie that longs for this baby to stay one, I ruefully accept that's not the way it works.
All three of our grand-girls are changing and growing each and every day.
As they do, their "uh-ohs" will change and grow right along with them. A juice glass knocked over. The forgotten homework. A test not studied for. A missed catch on the softball field. The dance step taken right when it should have gone left.
You get the picture.
Call me Grandma Grizzly, but I want to protect my granddaughters from all the pitfalls and potholes they will encounter throughout their lives. I desire to help them navigate those "Uh-oh!" moments that can all too easily turn into "Oh, no!" disasters.
But God reminds me: It's not my job.
My grands will make mistakes. They will, like all of us, sin and fall short of the glory of God.
And when they fall, our loving Lord will be right there to pick them up, brush them off and set them back on the road to righteousness.
So I pray that as each one of our precious grand-girls continues to grow, so will their faith in the redemptive power of God's grace.
And I'll do my part to place each of their tender, tiny hands into the strong, yet gentle, hands of Jesus, who will love them, "uh-ohs" and all.
~
Have you ever experienced an "uh-oh" moment that escalated into an "oh, no!" one?
Prayer: Father, thank You for being with us through all the "uh-oh" and "oh, no!" times in our lives. We all sin and fall short of Your glory. When we stumble and fall, let us reach for Jesus' steady and loving hands to guide us back into the ways of truth and righteousness. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
You have the "grandparent syndrome." :) We all wish we could protect them from disastrous decisions (just as we did our own children). But growth comes in the difficulty. Least you will still be there to help guide them. Or you could hog-tie them to a chair. :)
ReplyDeleteHog-tying sounds about right, Bill! But yes, I know better, and am very blessed to be in their lives as much as I am.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Such beautiful children, Martha! May the Lord keep guard around them as they grow in His love and yours.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary! That is my prayer for them, too.
DeleteLove and blessings!
May Goodness and Mercy follow them all the days of their lives as they dwell in the house of the Lord forever...amen!!! Beautiful children...<3
ReplyDeletePerfect prayer and sentiment, Marla! Thanks so much!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, your protective instincts are natural, however, I'm glad to see you realize they would do more harm than good in the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful that our God is a God of multiple second chances!
Love and blessings!
Yes, more harm than good, Kim. Children need to make their mistakes and come to realize that God will love them and forgive them through it all.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I've experienced uh oh's, oh no's and more oh's that i can write here Martha. Interestingly my life's greatest oh oh moment is what brought me to the church pews in the first place. God has been there to turn the "oh, no's" to "oh, yes! thank you." What seems to be holding us back might actually be propelling us forward.
ReplyDeleteAny post you add photos of the grands just makes your post super adorable :)
Oh, yes, Vishnu, I know you are all too well acquainted with all those uh-ohs and oh, oh, ohs! And it's so true that God can use those seemingly horrid moments in our lives to wake us up to His presence and His love for us. I like what you said: "What seems to be holding us back might actually be propelling us forward." Amen to that!
DeleteOh, and thanks for you sweet words about the grands!
Love and blessings!
This is such a cute post :)
ReplyDeleteMissed reading your blog for so long!
I've missed you, too, Privy! Hope all is well, my friend. So glad you enjoyed the post.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Yep, Martha ... the best lessons I've learned have come from those little ones ... who are growing like weeds! And are here, surrounding me this week.
ReplyDeleteBlessed, for sure ...
Linda, having those grands around constantly steers my attention back to Jesus' saying that we must become like little children to enter the kingdom. We think we're teaching them when so many times they're teaching us!
DeleteEnjoy your Weeds! :)
Love and blessings!