My grandson, who is all grown up now and going into the Catholic priesthood, is one of God’s greatest gifts to me. I loved him as a little boy and love him as a man.
We have an ongoing discussion about faith. I told him he has to be patient with me as I have been a Protestant much longer than he has been a Catholic. I could almost see him grinning as he read my email.
I’ve had pretty heavy doses of the Anglican faith (I was involved there the first 8 years of my life), and I attended all the Pentecostal and Baptist Vacation Bible Schools every summer for about five years, and spent many years in the United Church. I’ve been a Presbyterian for about 25 years. But Catholics were not on my horizon until daughter Lyn married one…it opened a lot of doors I had never entered before.
I have attempted to explain to him the simplicity of being Presbyterian…no trappings or traditions, although George, our minister, does wear a clerical collar on Sundays. No meat free Lenten traditions, no adoration of Mary or the saints …( I still don’t know why we as Protestants name our church’s Saint this or that…I thought we were all saints…someone can advise me on this.)
I went on to explain that although my husband never wore a wedding ring for the first forty years we were married…(we could only afford one very thin gold band for me at the time), everyone knew by his lifestyle that he was married. (I finally bought him one for our 40th Anniversary)… and although I used to write letters, I now use the computer or the phone to communicate…the method I use doesn’t matter, as long as I get the message across. It is how we live and how we communicate that tells others about us.
Yes, very simple…but not always easy. There has to be sincerity, a deep faith and trust in the Lord. I am not sure how Jesus views all of this but He knows the heart and after all that is what really counts.
So our emails fly from east to west and back and I thank God for this gift of a grandson who loves the Lord like I do. Praise God!
