The other day we took Sarah to Chuck E. Cheese which reminded me of another incident at Chuck E. Cheese before Sarah was born.
I told Sarah, “Not long after Papa and I had gotten cell phones (flip phones), we had some of the grandchildren at Chuck E. Cheese. Your daddy (our son Robb) needed to tell us something and tried and tried to call us…unsuccessfully! Finally, he gave up and came to Chuck E. Cheese to talk to us.
“When your Daddy got here, he told us, ‘I tried and tried to call you, but I couldn’t reach you. How come?’”
I pulled out my phone and handed it to him. Robb opened it, then handed it back in disgust. “You have to turn it on, Mom!”
Sarah and I laughed and laughed at our stupidity! Then I remembered another story. “Let me tell you another story before we had cell phones.
“Papa wanted to buy me a cell phone because I was making trips to help take care of your cousin, Joy, in Lock Haven and to visit my Mom in a nursing home in Maryland. I didn’t want to take on the expense of a cell phone and told him, “I don’t need to buy a cell phone. If I need one, God will provide.”
“Soon after that,” I told Sarah, “I left to go to Lock Haven. All was well until I realized I wasn’t sure if I might have passed my exit. I pulled to the side of the road to try to figure out where I was.”
Sarah listened attentively. “As I sat there with my map, a car pulled off in front of me and a woman got out. She started toward my car holding out a cell phone saying, ‘I wanted to see if you might need to use my cell phone.’” Sarah’s beautiful blue eyes widened.
I continued, “When I explained that I wasn’t sure if I’d passed the exit where I needed to get off to go to Lock Haven, she said, ‘That’s where I’m going. Just follow me.”
Now Sarah’s eyes lit up as they always do when she recognizes an amazing God story. I smiled and added, “It’s like God said, ‘I told you I’d take care of you, and I did!”
Sarah nodded and said, “Of course He did!”
I thought again of what our son-in-law, Matt, told me once years ago. “I’m not trying to downplay the importance of going to church, but the biggest spiritual influence in my life, hands down, was my godly grandparents. And I wasn’t with them nearly as much as Connor and Sarah are with you and Papa.” Those words have comforted me many times.
Once some years ago, I mentioned to someone that we have Sarah part of almost every weekend. They said, “Why?”
Her question surprised me, but I responded, “Because we love being with her, and because it gives her mama and her other grandma a break.”
We’re so grateful for the many opportunities we have to share God stories from our own lives with Sarah, as well as to read Bible stories and devotionals to her when she’s here. She’s such a blessing to us, and we are thankful for the reminder of our son-in-law’s encouraging words.
Heavenly Father, help us to live our lives ever mindful of the spiritual influence we can be to our grandchildren. Water and fertilize all the seeds we’ve been able to plant in the hearts of all our grandchildren. Amen.