May you live to see your children's children.

Psalms 128:6

Picture this: You are riding along with a seven-year-old, a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a nearly three-year-old. You are in a van in a national park and have a ways to go. For miles, the two oldest have been exchanging "knock, knock" jokes with the favorite being one that involves bananas and oranges that has been going on for about five minutes because the six and seven year-olds have a hard time mastering the punch line. Then the seven-year-old switches to something new - something she has made up herself and is presenting to the world for the first time ever. It goes something like this: 

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Potato"

"Potato, who?"

"Potato on your head!"

The punch line is lost on me, but the grandkids die with laughter. Emboldened, the seven-year-old goes again with the knock, knock and the three-year-old (now in full swing of the rhythm) replies in her sweet little voice that is practically bursting with anticipation, "Who is there?" as if she has no earthly idea as to what is coming. Again, the punch line is flawlessly delivered and the back seats roar with laughter. The three-year-old now tells her own joke, beginning with the phrase "Knocka, knocka" and the crowd goes wild.

We have only ten miles or so to go and I am barely hanging on.

This in a nutshell was our trip to Big Bend this last week. We went in three vehicles with all of our kids and their spouses and all seven of our grandchildren and had the time of our life. We enjoyed a lot of beauty, but the highlight for us was the time spent on the rides with our grandchildren. We were delighted to have them, and our kids were surprisingly willing to let them go with us. We had little cell-service, the kids had no electronics, and we just savored one another's company for three days.

This showed me why the blessing "May you live to see your children's children" is included amongst all the other blessings in the Word of God. Grandkids really are one of the greatest blessings that men have ever received. They have a way of helping we moms and dads to make up for all that we missed when we were in the middle of life and trying to raise our own children. Grandchildren are a breath of fresh air in a world that has grown stale for so many as they age. They give an injection of life that is refreshing and packed with joy. 

Grandchildren, like children, are near the very top of the blessings that God has heaped upon us! 

It makes me realize how good God has been to me. It also makes me realize the great and very real responsibility that I have to make sure that I am doing my part to prepare these precious bundles of energy for this life and the one to come. Of course, the main responsibility lies with their parents, just as the responsibility for training up our children primarily fell to Caroly and me. It is a big job, to be sure, but one of the most pleasant tasks that God has given. The question is do we see it? More important, are we enjoying every second of it?