Driving to work the other day, singing along to a worship song, words leapt out at me:
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
Your family and your children
And their children,
and their children
As the words settled in my mind, my grandmother came to mind.
A woman of faith, who lived a very real, intentional, consistent life. She worked hard, played hard and knew when and how to rest. She loved her family, would go to the ends of the earth for any one of us. She never allowed our poor behavior, immaturity or way we chose to live impact her unconditional love for us.
But … she did not leave this world under any illusion that all of her loved ones chose, or would choose to follow her God.
I am certain that her greatest hope would have been that her family walk with God … her children, and their children, and their children and their children …
We all have loved ones who have not accepted Christ as their redeemer, or ones who have chosen to walk away from the gift of grace … the favor that is offered. We all have ached for the peace that they do not even know is missing in their life. This desire for their lives is a good one, perhaps the best anyone can hope for another.
Yet, if we sing the words of this blessing we can feel as though our loved one, as though we have been overlooked by God, missing out on his favor, his grace for life, everlasting.
One thing that my grandmother taught me, that is still resonating in my mind and heart, is to trust God. Or, as Corrie Ten Boom said,
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God”
So, we trust God, who loves our loved ones even more than we do. And we hold on to his promises, knowing that though with man this is impossible, with him all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”
Psalm 102:18
itsawonderfilledlife 