Legacy Before Us (Part Two)



Me with Grandpa and Grandma Ver Steeg 1990



I do not take for granted the relationship that I had with 3 out of my 4 grandparents. I treasure each and every one of them for the lessons they left me as their grandchild, and how their legacy continues on in my parents, my sisters and me, and now even in my sister’s children, and Lord willing-those yet to be born.

      I value that when I was a little girl, scared of the dark with 9 stuffed animals piled on me, my Grandma Ver Steeg would tuck me in (when she was visiting from Iowa), and recite the twenty-third Psalm over me.  I can still remember the smell of her glycerin and rose water lotion on her hands and the way her chin quivered whenever she prayed or spoke that scripture over me.  She would encourage me to say it whenever I was afraid.  Because of her, I knew the Lord was my Shepherd. It isn’t surprising that the binding in my kid’s Bible broke in two sections: Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40 (which was the first passage of scripture I put to memory with my Mom). 

·     I value that my Grandpa Ver Steeg’s lap was always open for me to crawl into and how he would sweep me up in his arms when I ran down the hall.  I used to love that when he kissed me I could smell his morning coffee on his breath. J  I can still picture him reading a book in our recliner when they came to visit, and how as I got older he would let me read to him and Grandma. His favorite Psalm was Psalm 15, and reading that chapter recently, I was struck by the fact he lived what it said. Because of him, I learned what integrity was.

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  Me with My Lovely Grandma 2007

  
  I value that I could always pick up the phone and call my Grandma Phinney and she would be a listening ear, but she would also pray with me.  I remember, especially in my early 20’s that I would call and she would tell me she had just asked the Lord to have someone call, and there I was.  Or how she had just finished praying for someone in my family.  Even in her last year, when she was at her worst physically, she would tell me she would be praying for my Dad’s heart and his ministry 3 times a day.  I can still hear her sweet voice saying “oh yes Lord” whenever I would pray over her or our requests. She was ever grateful that I would pray that all her children would one day walk in Truth and her children would be reconciled to God and one another.  Almost every time our phone calls would end she would say, “thank you Angel, you made my day.” Because of her, I know the power of prayer and intercession.
• Yes, I even value what my Grandpa Phinney taught me.  Despite the fact that we barely shared a relationship, from his life I learned the importance of following God’s call.  At the age of 19, my Grandpa said he knew that God wanted him to go into ministry, but instead, he denied God access to his life and walked away from His Truth.  A life of much pain, sin, and family destruction came from his life instead.  I learned from him, that God will not force my calling upon me…I have a choice.  God’s sovereign plan will always play out, but my choosing to embrace His plan for my life is a choice.  Without it is certain death (spiritually and sometimes even physically) to my life, and to those around me.  Those closest to me will suffer unjustly when I say “No” to the Lord.  In his later years, my Grandpa appeared to have a turn around back to the Lord, but honestly, I knew so little about him only the Lord knows if his repentance was sincere.  In those years, I can still remember the first time he said he loved me, the time he shared his jelly beans with me, and the one time he took me to the grocery store and bragged to the clerk about his granddaughters. Even with very few memories with this man, I can still say he taught me something beyond value…to follow the voice of the Lord,  and that disobedience has dire consequences.   

I realize many people do not have the opportunity because of varying circumstances, to have a relationship with their grandparents.  But, I must say I know more of us who are unwilling to even attempt having a relationship with them.  Our culture has infiltrated our mindset with the lie that elderly people live in a different world than we do. Somehow they didn’t struggle with the same things that we do, therefore, they have nothing to offer us.  Elderly are so foreign to most these days, your average youth doesn’t even know how to speak or interact with someone outside their peer circle. What’s happened that we no longer see wisdom in gray hair?   As the Bible says, this is a man’s honor (see Prov. 20:29).

 I know, right about now, I have about half of you saying things like:

• “You have no idea what my parents are like!”
•  “I didn’t know my grandparents at all.  “
•  “I don’t have a good family lineage, it’s full of godlessness.”
• “Excuse me?!  Have you met my crazy family?”
• “I am willing, but I don’t think my parents or grandparents care.”
• “I am the only believer and follower of Jesus Christ in my family.” 

However, God’s Word even addresses this many times with scriptures like Psalm 78:4-8, one of my favored passages to pray over future generations.  Let’s specifically look at verses 7 and 8, pertaining to the context of our tough questions.  

"That they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

 It’s true.  We didn’t all grow up in a great family environment. Many of us didn’t even grow up in a home centered on Christ.  Even if you did, a Christ-centered home does not = a perfect home.  I realize a little more each day the gift I was given, and I don’t take my upbringing for granted.  We still had our family pain and dysfunctions, but I know first hand how much I should cherish my home life and the love of my parents.  My Dad is a living, walking testimony of how a surrendered heart can change the tide from a family bound by hellish sins, to walking as a child of the Light (see Eph. 5:8).  Statistics probably wouldn’t have been in my favor had they seen my father’s childhood. Yet, because of the grace of a loving God, and some serious life changing choices my Dad made, I grew up in a Christ-centered home.  Just because YOU didn’t have it, doesn’t mean your children can’t OR your grandchildren won’t!  As long as you have breath you can make a difference in the life of the next generation.  What will you choose?

My challenge to you is this: 1) Research the scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, and see the importance the Lord puts on generations, descendants, and genealogies.  Maybe you will discover that the family you were born into wasn’t chance or a mistake, but it was planned and with a purpose…heartaches and all.   Maybe you will understand He is not just good when generations are perfect, but that His Presence is most needed when they are full of imperfections.  2) DO SOMETHING!  If your parents and/or grandparents are alive, invest in their lives.  I don’t care how crazy they are, believers or unbelievers, they have something to teach you and your life should be used to bless them.  God honors those who honor authority. If they are not alive- never, ever, forget the next generation, even those yet to be born (Psalm 78).  The Lord wants to use you to declare His faithfulness and proclaim His life.  So, will you join me?  Let’s redeem our past, treasure our present, and pray for our future through the strength of a loving Lord and King.  It’s never too late with a God who heals.