Sammi at 3 1/2

I remember my mother telling me "You just wait until you have kids of your own. The you'll understand." She pulled it out every time her actions seemed confusing to me. It didn't have much impact on me then. I'm sure I rolled my eyes thinking that was so far in the future as not to have any importance to me whatsoever.

It seems like yesterday that our first child had her first child. It was a magical moment. Just like dropping Ruth off at college (was that almost 10 years ago??) blind-sided me, this moment when our granddaughter Sammi was born, took me totally by surprise. I had figured she would be some distant relation to me, my daughter's daughter. Suddenly, in the twinkling of as eye, she was a huge part of my life.

It was a love that was unexpected, but nonetheless an amazing and wonderful blessing. It's not really the same as the love you have for your children, a love that is characterized by wanting the very best for them in all things. This love is devoid of that concern. Not that I don't care. I do care, quite a bit, But this love is touched by the fact that I am assured she is well taken care of. That responsibility is in the hands of my daughter and her husband, Todd. Both are wonderful, caring and loving parents. Ruth has turned out to be quite a mother. I'm so proud of her. Todd is a model father. Sammi is well loved and beautifully cared for. This leaves Kelly and me to love her just for the fantastic little girl she is. It allows us to be blessed with a growing family, even in our golden years, just when we thought there would be no more children.

What a wonderful and beautiful expression of God's grace and promise to sustain us!

Ruth and Sammi are visiting for the week. We went to a local park to eat a picnic lunch, play on the playground and dip little toes in the stream. Sammi is growing up so fast. It seems like such a short time ago, we were taking Ruth to the park. I praise God we have the chance to do it again and remember those precious years when our kids were so small. It makes these years even more precious.

Mom was right. I didn't know until I had my own.

I didn't know the poignant bliss of seeing our kids grow up and wishing they wouldn't. I didn't know the sweet pain of watching them walk out of the house. I didn't know the sense of inevitability of that moment and how it intermingled with the hope they would make it on their own and the fear that they might not. I didn't know that God would be faithful to His promises and shed His grace upon them just as He shed it upon us. I didn't know that I would go through it all again just to see that little girl squeal in joy when she stepped into that cool stream this afternoon. It was a comforting reminder of the joy of seeing my own little girl become such a fine woman and mother.

God is good...all the time.

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