When Life Gets Shuffled

In September, Jonah made his first trip to Raleigh to visit his grandparents who live there. It was the first of what will likely be many road trips.

Our little guy is blessed to have so many people who love him, and it was exciting to bring my child to the place where I spent my childhood.

While we were there, we played a lot of games, which is pretty typical. At one point, Jonah‘s grandfather, my father, held him in his lap with a handful of cards in front of him. He spoke to him about what the cards meant and made a joke about going “all in.” Granted, the cards we were using were for a particular game called The Mind and had nothing to do with poker.

I played cards a lot with my grandparents growing up. And my father’s father was very insistent that we play using proper etiquette. We were chastised if we cut the deck the wrong way or dealt incorrectly. In fact, I specifically learned to play bridge so we could spend more time together.

When I saw my father fanning out the cards in front of my son, he looked like my grandfather. The torch of grandparenthood had passed.

This thought brought me both joy and sadness because my dad’s parents were recently moved into an assisted care facility. They are in poor health and can no longer manage at home.

My grandparents and my parents have been a remarkable influence on my card-playing as well as faith journey. For example, the tag line I use on my social media pages is a favorite proverb of my Papa:

“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Of course, my mother’s role as a youth pastor inspired me to go into ministry. Both of my grandmothers had profound faith and served in the choir and teaching Sunday school. My father taught me Contract Bridge but also how to pray.

It says in Psalms 144:4 that it is the responsibility and privilege for all generations to mentor each other in faith:

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

This means sharing in faith is not a one-way street. We learn about God from our elders, but we also proclaim God’s work in our lives to our elders.

As we begin our lives as parents, I’m looking forward to how all of these older family members, these older generations, will pour into the life of our son. But I’m also excited about all the ways Jonah will celebrate our Creator. He’s already igniting new joys and wonders as we watch him grow. Without words, he is already a fantastic evangelist, proclaiming with his fingers and toes the love of our God.

I anticipate many card games in Jonah’s future. I hope he learns proper card etiquette and loves to play bridge with his Papa. But I know he will learn all about the love of God from his family and church family. And I pray he will continue to be an evangelist, even without words.