This is a very special day for a very special woman...

It is my Grandmother’s 80^th Birthday!

In preparations for the big day, we were asked to come up with some special memories of our time growing up with Grams. As I was reflecting, I quickly got caught up in how truly incredible the gift of family is. I am so truly blessed to have the family that I have.

This is one special memory I have of my childhood and the valuable lesson it taught me that I remember to this day:

I like to call it my “breaking Grams’ important things” stage. I’m not sure how old I was or how many things I broke. I know I broke a pretty little glass spoon when I was using it to ‘do surgery’ on one of my dolls. Grams’ just reminded me about the candy dish I broke at the cabin and how I scratched her wooden kitchen stool. I’m sure there were a few other things in there too! I was SO frustrated at myself after the first few things broke. I really wasn’t meaning to break all of her things, but it just kept happening. I remember being so scared every time it happened and spending a long time mustering up my courage to go say “Guess what I broke today, Grams…” Every time I ashamedly muttered these words I painfully saw the disappointment in her face, but in the same instant she was hugging me and saying it would was ok. Even though I had let her down, I knew if I was honestly sorry about what I had happened, she would give me second chance after second chance because she loved me so incredibly deeply.

When I look back on this phase in my life, I realize that through it I learned a great lesson of God’s mercy and forgiveness from my grandmother’s show of mercy and forgiveness towards me.

As soon as we fess up to the misdeed, our Father in heaven is faithful and just to forgive us every single time we mess up. (1 John 1:9) No matter how many times…as long as we come with a humble heart to say sorry, He will sweep us up into Him arms and hug us and say, “There is another chance for you, my child!” And He doesn’t stop there, because He knows that without a little help (or a lot of it!) we will just keep falling and probably harder and more often. But He has given us a helper who is of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7)…and that helper will abide in us and help us to become more and more Christ like. What beautiful gifts! Forgiveness and guidance and wisdom…all very undeserved yet given freely to any and all who will accept Him! What a beautiful thing!

Thanks Grams for teaching me this lesson all the way back in the dark ages of the “breaking Grams’ important things” phase! Thank you, Grams, for your incredible love for me—it is reflective of the Father’s love for us! Thank you, Father, for your incredible love for all of us!