Grandma’s Prayers

I have a dear octogenarian friend who prays for her children, grands and great grands. I first  met Lois when she taught me how to sing.  As a young pastor’s wife, she started a children’s choir at the Otisville-Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church. She ‘s the same woman who offered collectors’ spoons of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to any teenage Sunday school student who would memorize 200 verses of scripture. As she prayed for me during my year of hospitalization in 1960, I memorized and then recited those verses to her that Easter You might say Lois made an impact on my life.

This winter my personal Bible study centers on 1 and 2 Timothy, with a recent reminder of Timothy’s godly heritage from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. I penned this observation in my journal entry on my birthday when my reading took me to 2 Timothy 1: “When sincere faith dwells in parents and grandparents, it is foundational to a child’s early years. I was taught right from wrong, disciplined in love, prayed for — by and with — my parents and grandmother. Scripture telling, teaching and memorizing were woven into the fiber of young cloth. Grandma Lundy and Mom acquainted me with the Bible so I was ripe to hear Jesus’ call to me in later years.

As a grandmother for five years now, I have written letters to each grandchild: one letter each week of the first year of the baby’s life, followed by a yearly birthday letter. This annual epistles pinpoint that child’s character growth and tell them what verse I’ve chosen to pray for them in the upcoming year. I truly hope to edit those nearly 200 letters during 2013 and try to publish a book that would encourage other grandparents to write about things that truly matter and to share family history. Many questions I have about my heritage will receive no answer here on earth. Although Grandma Lundy lived to 91, she lived in South Carolina and I saw her twice a year. Sadly, my Mom died of cancer at 66, and I hadn’t sat down and really tlaked about many subjects I wished we had probed together.

Then I came upon a very helpful book, My Grandmother is Praying for Me by March, Ferriss and Kelton. Daily readings from Proverbs divide into 12 months with each month stressing a different character trait. February deals with praying that the grandchild will be teachable.  From the Proverb flows a short prayers and then an application activity.  While not all activities fit all age groups, a wide variety offers fodder for children based on age and ability.

 

So while the temperatures plummet this winter, instead of an intake of television, puzzles, card games, and long winter naps only, why not try your hand at a letter or a call to talk to your grandchildren. Or better yet, why not pray for them on a  regular basis?

Consider the Apostle Paul’s words to Timothy:

“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”