on influencing grandchildren - faith walk friday #5

I can't believe it's already week 5 of this series and finally, a topic I can't wait to talk about.  Thank you for sticking with me this far and for all of your kind comments.

On being a grandma - If you are a grandma, I really don't need to say much except...isn't it the best? 

Of course, God is not going to let me off that easy.  He is ever the master orchestrator and giver of good gifts.

I shared with you last week that our girls were adopted at four and five.  What I didn't mention is that we adopted after seven years of marriage, one ectopic pregnancy, a couple of miscarriages and numerous infertility treatments.

After the last miscarriage, emotionally I couldn't handle continuing to try to achieve a successful pregnancy, so we decided to pursue adoption.  Two long years later, we were blessed with our girls.  I knew from the time we saw them that they were meant to be ours.  It sounds silly now but one was fair haired, with light eyes like my husband and one was darker complected, with dark curls like me and to my 28 year old mind that was my fleece blanket...my sign from God.

Fast forward 18 years...my husband's mother (who was second only to my own mother in mentoring me) had just died.  In fact on the very weekend of her funeral, my youngest found out she was pregnant.  Seven months later our first grandchild was born.  He and his mommy came home from the hospital to live with us and our hearts were changed forever.  Seven short months later our little miss Emily was born to my daughter and son in law. 

God has given us, through these beautiful babies, a glimpse of the first few years of our children's lives that we didn't get to be a part of.  Having one grandchild living with us and the other not too far way, we have had the joy of first teeth, the first rollover, the first crawl, the first steps, the first words and even the first temper tantrum.  It is a daunting task to be given the opportunity to influence another generation and I know that it is no coincidence that all of these firsts have been redeemed for us by a God who knew we desired to experience these things.

I know God's first choice would have been for us all to bare and have been born into loving families but given this fallen world, he took what would have been ashes and turned them into gold.

Faithfully His,  Patty