I lifted the heavy, black binder from the box and set it on the table nearby. I hadn’t looked in it for years. It holds love letters…no not from my husband, they are in another place. These are love letters from my granddaughter.
We started this exchange in 2004 when she first went into University. I was anxious for her to know that I was truly interested in what changes were going on in her life and that she was in my constant prayers.
Initially, I did most of the writing, but gradually as life became fuller for her she shared a great deal with me. Like a weekly movie there was an installment every weekend and she would tell me about her activities. How I loved those emails and I still love them as they arrive like clock-work every Sunday since.
She has a couple of years to go and will then have her Doctorate in Health Sciences so I have another big binder that is slowly filling up.
I recall in one of Rick Warren’s CD’s he said how he loved it when his little girl would come and talk to him and ask him to tie her shoes…and I just love it when my granddaughter (who, as a child stayed with us for 2-4 weeks each summer), shares with me what is going on in her world. We have discussed all kinds of things through the years. Some day all this correspondence will sit on her shelves and she will recall with fondness (I hope) all those years and all that sharing.
I sure I am quoting all the grandparents out there if I say, “If you thought your children were a delight…just wait for the grandchildren.” Somehow the memories they light up in your mind enrich your Senior years more than any others. There is a remarkable bond between these two generations.
Similarly journaling is such a part of my life. I feel if I have it down on paper or in the computer I am making a statement of some kind…here I am, or in the case of my demise, here I was.
Obviously God felt that journaling was a good idea too or we wouldn’t have all those wonderful Scriptures telling us about all the Biblical characters and about their journey of faith. I thank God for my Bible and for those who travelled this road hundreds of years ago and were passionate about sharing their beliefs. They have laid the foundations of Christianity for all of us to build upon.
Photo by Peter Hellberg via Flickr/CC
