Isn’t it wonderful to sit down to your favorite dessert and enjoy each bite? This beautiful lady at our church makes a delicious coconut cake. The cake is super moist and the icing is superb. I have to be careful because I could eat the whole thing right by myself. Self-control with my eating habits has been a lifelong battle as in other areas of my life. Thankfully, I have grown, but there is still a long way to go. I keep thinking that I will arrive one day, and God won’t have to work so hard to keep me straight. I am thankful He doesn’t give up. He is the perfect Father. I am blessed beyond measure to have my perfect Father in Heaven from whom I have learned so much.
As a mother, those lessons were put to the test. I made so many mistakes. With the addition of each child, a new challenge was born. Unfortunately, when you raise one, the next child is completely different. Experience helps in many ways, but there are many more challenges to face.
I wouldn’t trade being a wife and mother for anything in the world. It has been such a wonderful adventure. The joys and difficulties of each stage were a period of growth. The children are all married and I have twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild. My children have raised their own children without our assistance. I have so many things to share, but I must be careful not to butt in, unless they ask. It is so hard to be quiet, so I try to only butt in when I feel it is very important. They are not going to raise their children the same way that we did, nor do I expect them to. I just don’t want them to make the same mistakes I did.
When our first grandchild came into our lives, Proverbs 17:6 came alive to me. “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” Her smile melted our hearts, and we loved her so much. When you don’t think you can love anymore, your heart just gets bigger. It is amazing how that works. Being a grandma was so much fun. Victoria loved to come to Grandma and Granddad’s house. We had her every Tuesday for dinner and playtime. As she got a little older, she spent the night. She was our only grandchild for several years. When she turned 10, our next grandchild was born, then 3 months later the next.
From that point, we had a steady trickle. I do think we are finished with grandchildren unless God brings a surprise because our youngest grandchild just turned seven. Our oldest granddaughter recently had our first great-grandchild. We are so blessed.
It saddens me that we are not able to spend the time with each of them that we spent with our first. We don’t have the time to have a special night each week with them. A couple of things contribute to this factor, we have thirteen of them and there are not thirteen days in a week. We even have trouble finding one day a year which is sad. We have gotten so busy that our responsibilities consume us.
We take the opportunities as we are able. We have a week with them at the beach each year. The grandkids so enjoy that week. All of us are together in the same house. It can get rather noisy at times. We have other times that we enjoy getting together as a family as well.
We also have the privilege of being at school with them every day. I teach some of them and others are in different classrooms. I am not sure if they like their grandmother being their teacher or not. As long as things are going smoothly, all is well. But if someone gets in trouble, it is not fun for them or me. In fact, it hurts. However, at least I know that the person disciplining them loves them.
My grandchildren don’t know how much they keep me going sometimes. When I get tired and feel like I can’t go on, knowing that my grandchildren need me to keep going is the incentive I need. Knowing that my grandchildren have a safe place to go to school and that they need me gives me an extra boost when my body becomes weary.
Another special privilege we have is going to church together. Their granddad is their pastor. What better combination is that? Sometimes they choose to sit with me at church. I also teach Sunday School for three of them. Can you ever have too much of a good thing?
As parents and grandparents, it is so important to be a good example, steady and not wavering (James 1:6). Our children and grandchildren need to see our faith lived out in our lives. We need to share our faith, but we also need to live out our faith. If we raise our children in the admonition of the Lord, we will know that we did all we could to help them on the right path. If we have regrets, it is never too late to change. If we haven’t always been the best example, now is the time to start. In our present world, our children and grandchildren need us to be a steady example more than ever.
Our prayer is that we will always be the example our grandchildren need. They are the icing on the cake. They are such a pleasure to have in our lives. The only problem is we don’t get to enjoy the icing as much as we would like, but I am so glad it is there. What is a cake without the icing?
Mrs. Worthington has five children and twelve grandchildren. She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro.