Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."
1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Recently I receive, and readily embrace, this sweet, unexpected note and drawing from our oldest granddaughter, Virginia Rose.
Here is what she wrote:
Dear Gammie,
I love you so much! And you're my favorite Gammie in the entire world! Also, you bring my heart up when you are here, and my heart is down when you are not here. I love you. You're mine.
Love, Virginia
Oh, how my heart soars and sings at Virginia's beautiful message! And I so love what she says as it reminds me of those times when we feel that God is not present. Those times when He feels so far away from our needs, our wants, our petitions and prayers.
My heart is down when you're not here.
Reality? God is always here with us; it is we who create the distance.
Virginia's heart is cast down, and so is mine, when I'm not with her. I adore this amazing child, and I'd like nothing better than to be able to see her each and every day! But you know what? God feels the same way. He desires to spend time with us, to have conversations, to provide those reassuring, comforting hugs, if and when we choose to spend time with Him in prayer. There is nothing to compare to talking with and listening to our Father who knows all our needs before we ask.
The Lord, our God, has loved us with an everlasting love, one that will never fail, and one that has been witnessed throughout the ages. And at times, I think, His great love is perfected in the gift of grandchildren. So I leave you all with these inspirational and joyful quotes about what it means to be a grandparent.
Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild. ~Welsh Proverb
It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace. ~Christopher Morley
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first. ~Lois Wyse
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old. ~Mary H. Waldrip
You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. ~Proverb
Posterity is the patriotic name for grandchildren. ~Art Linkletter
Oh, how much our grandchildren can teach us about God's abiding and steadfast love!
Amen!
You are blessed indeed to have such a lovely granddaughter! What a sweet "love story" between you...and I love the analogy with our relationship with our Father God. He so loves to be with us...and He treasures every moment. He loves us with an everlasting love...and is ALWAYS there for us! Thank you for these sweet reminders!
ReplyDeleteYes, Pamela, I am blessed, indeed! Having Virginia in my life has truly strengthened the bond I have with our Father. What's not to love about that?
DeleteLove and blessings!
Beautiful Post! He waits for us always.
ReplyDeleteYes, He does, Tina, that is for sure and for certain!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, even though I'm not a mom or a grandma, I appreciate the imagery you shared here about God's eternal and everlasting love for us.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Kim, I'm so glad you appreciated the imagery here. And as I know you quite well, I'm assured that you have a deep and abiding relationship with our Father. You don't need a child or grandchild to tell you how much you are loved by God!
DeleteLove and blessings!
This made my heart smile! Absolutely precious. I cannot wait for a grandchild. Both of my sons are newlyweds.
ReplyDeleteMartha, you are so right that God is always with us. He holds our hearts in His hands. What a comfort.
Many blessings to you and those beautiful grandkids
Oh, Beckie, I'm so glad this post spoke to your heart! Even though your sons are newlyweds, there will be those grandchildren eventually, and I guarantee that your soul will sing like never before. What a blessing they are!
DeleteAnd I thank God every day for His consistent and unfailing presence and everlasting love.
Love and blessings!
As a grandfather I can only say AMEN to this! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know it, Bill! We are definitely on the same grandparent page.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I love this special relationship you have with Virginia. She makes me smile whenever you feature her here.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad she makes you smile, Jean! And yes, we are so fortunate to share a special bond.
DeleteLove and blessings!
When I had grandchildren, I said, "Oh, THIS is why I went through all those challenging years of raising kids!" It suddenly all made sense!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, it truly does, Galen! The years of raising our own can be so stressful and worrisome as we help them navigate all those years until they finally reach adulthood. Grandchildren are our great reward!
DeleteLove and blessings!
What a beautiful picture of love you have woven with this story Martha! And your sweet little granddaughter, loving you and missing you so much, how very, very precious! My, I think this is worthy of framing! Such love! And such love from our Saviour to us too. Beautiful, beautiful post! While I am not a grandmother yet, I enjoyed all the quotes, especially the one - you don't really understand it unless you can explain it to grandma, lol! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your sweet comment here, Marilyn! Right now, this precious card is displayed on our fridge, but framing it is an excellent idea. I'll get right on that one!
DeleteAnd I agree, that is a great quote you repeated here. It made me think of all the times Virginia has told me her "stories" hoping I understood all she was saying. She's a special love!
Love and blessings!
What a touching post! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Ariella!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Love the way your grand daughter expresses her heart love for you.
ReplyDeleteWe are now in Mn. with our daughter and family that consist of
three grandchildren and they all three love having us here which makes the travel time so worth it. In California we share a house with our son and family which consist of three children. The youngest is almost two and he has captured his grandpa heart totally. He is having a hard time right now because Grandpa is not there. We face time them almost every day. Lovely post Martha.
Betty, I recall vividly your post about splitting time between your son's and daughter's families in order to have more time with the grands. I think it's wonderful!
DeleteAnd six grandchildren? Wow, are you blessed, or what? But the poor youngest tyke missing him Grandpa :(. So glad you can see each other through face time!
Love and blessings!
"his"not "him" in my comment regarding Grandpa above. Goodness, was I in that much of a hurry?
DeleteLord, slow me down!