Today’s Scripture Reading (July 8, 2018): Genesis 17
My three oldest
grandchildren are in a rotation. (I hope that one day my youngest, and any
other grandchildren that I might have will join the rotation.) But the idea is
that each one gets to spend a night at Grandma’s house, without having to
divide their time with the others. For
one night, they get Grandma, and Grandpa, all to themselves. They know the
rotation, and they know when their turn is next. They start asking Grandma to
put the date on the calendar, to circle the number and count the sleeps until the night arrives and they get a
turn, all by themselves, at Grandma’s house. For now, anyway. I suspect that the day is coming when spending a day with
Grandma and Grandpa will cease to be something special and they won’t mind
skipping their turn. But for now, the time with Grandma is treasured and, as grandparents, we hope that we are building
memories for them and with them.
We have four
grandchildren. Each one is very different from the others. Emilina is my
sensitive princess. She is the responsible one and often the mother to the
rest, whether they like it or not. William is the artist. He has an
appreciation of music. That appreciation, combined with his comfort at being
alone, might mean that he will be proficient in an instrument or instruments,
one day. For now, he is content playing with his guitar. Henry is the
sportsman. He is built like an American
Football Player. (He and his brother William are all of four years old as I write this.) Henry is a strong man, always
looking for things that he can lift. When he visits Grandpa during Grandpa’s
workouts, Henry goes straight for the dumbbells in the corner proving once more
how much he can lift, and he always needs a turn walking on the treadmill.
James is still counting his age in months, but even now we can sense his
determination. Whatever it is that James puts his mind to, I am confident that
he will accomplish.
So why this journey
down a road centering on my grandchildren? Because
I know how I feel about each one of them. There is no boundary to my
love. They are some of the most important aspects of my life. And time spent
with them is a joy. And I want the best for each one of them.
A few years ago I
wrote on the complicated relationship between Isaac and his older brother
Ishmael, and how as Christians we center on Isaac, the child of promise. We
understand the conflict between Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, and Sarah, the
mother of Isaac. But I wonder if we can put ourselves, for a moment, in the place of Abraham. At this point, Abraham
has one son. His name is Ishmael, and he is the pride of his father. God says
that there will be another son. And Abraham’s response is “I’m okay. I have
Ishmael, whom I love with everything that I have and am. Just bless Ishmael.”
Maybe this last part is about Abraham once again trying to help God along.
Abraham and Sarah were old, well beyond childbearing
years. God didn’t need to do something extraordinary. Ishmael was enough.
But a major part of
Abraham’s statement reflects a love that Dad has for his son. God may give him
a hundred more sons, but each would be different, and none would detract from his love for his oldest son, Ishmael.
Isaac would be the
child of promise. But Ishmael would always be the oldest son of Abraham. And
Abraham, like most of us, loved both of his sons. And if one were blessed, his prayer would be that the
other would be blessed as well. That is simply the way it is when you are
parents – or grandparents.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Genesis 18
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