How To Be A Christian Without Being A Jerk

Faith in real life

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Grandpa Diary #15

August 27th, 2013

Dear Kaylee,

We spent much time together this weekend. I saw  you Friday, Saturday, and Monday. One interesting thing that happened is your eyes changed in only a few days! It seems all of a sudden, they are much bluer. I could look into those eyes all day.

I wonder what goes on behind those eyes? You are taking in so much of the world and processing it for the first time. Every time you see something for the first time, it creates a new world for you. Same with sound, same with touch, same with smell; you are a living, learning human being.

For example, your backyard is being changed at your house. New landscaping, electrical wiring being put in, lights being put up, even a whole cement slab was torn out. When all this is going on, there is a lot of noise. It doesn’t seem to bother you, but I wonder what happens when the work is done? Will the quiet be different for you? I guess we could could hook you up to some instruments and measure your stress level, but I don’t think that is necessary.

Babies go with the flow. What you are learning quickly is you can’t control what is happening around you, but you can work on how you respond. You seem to be doing well. You sleep when you are tired and you eat when you are hungry. Mommys and daddys, grandmas and grandpas, we don’t always do so well on those two simple things. We don’t always sleep well, even though we are tired, and we don’t eat so well; we skip meals, grab easy, but not-good-for-you meals, we might even not have an appetite, or we eat way too much!

A lot of this has to do with worry. It does us well to stop and think about babies like you, Kaylee. You don’t worry about things like sleep or what you eat. You just do it because you know the people who love you will take care of what you need.

You expect it.

The one who takes care of all of us is God. What if we live our lives like you, expecting that the one who loves us will give us what we need?

Sleeping and eating? No, problem…

Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #14

August 19th, 2013

Dear Kaylee,

I saw you twice this weekend! We’re getting more and more acquainted to this granddaughter/grandpa routine. I’m loving it. How about you?

Also, something else special is happening. It is always a treat to get to see your mommy, too, of course, but what is fun for me is I get to see your daddy a lot, too!

You see, Kaylee, I know your mommy as well as anyone, except your Nana (that’s what you’ll call your Grandma Hanson), and your daddy. You are going to be one who knows your mommy as much as anyone, too! Yet, when it comes to your daddy, I don’t know him as well. So, the more I see him, the more I get to know him.

Your daddy is a hard worker. He is getting lots of things done with the new house. He also is figuring out what this daddy stuff is all about. He loves being around you, but just like me and the rest of the daddys who have their first child, he is trying to measure what it means to be a daddy, too.

Your daddy does well at measuring. I have watched him with the tape measure several times, hooking up a washer, dryer, and stove, but that’s measuring in inches. When it comes to being a daddy, the unit of measurement is love.

Kaylee, guess what? They don’t have a tape measure long enough for your daddy to measure how much he loves you! He is figuring that one out quickly…

Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #13

August 14th, 2013
Dear Kaylee,

You are over a month old now! I got to celebrate that special day in the usual way. Going to see you and then holding you for a long, long time. Had to change your diaper twice though, so what’s up with that? I guess I need to time my visits better. I don’t mind though, as I am seeing how quickly I can change you. Need to get a stopwatch…

Kaylee, I notice when I set you up on my knee now, you look over at your mommy. She is becoming your Sun and you are a planet orbiting around her. It’s just how it should be. God designs us so that our moms and dads become anchors in our lives from the beginning.

The first and most important lesson you need to learn is that you are totally safe and secure in God’s loving arms. Now, since you can’t see God you will think that doesn’t make sense. That’s one of the reasons Jesus came to earth. When he was living in our world, he didn’t see God, either. But, he lived like God was right there and he spoke with God like he was right there. Well, where do you think he learned that?

From watching his mommy and daddy. Jesus learned about God through spending time with his mommy and daddy. The Bible says this about Jesus as a boy.

“Then he returned to Nazareth with his mommy and daddy and learned from them deeply (Luke 2:51).”

This is why it says “Don’t be afraid” in the Bible so many times. Living in God’s Kingdom we are totally and completely safe no matter what. We figure this out from the very beginning in the loving arms of our mommy and daddy…

…or even the loving hands of our hyperspeed diaper-changing machine Grandpa!

Love,

Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #12

August 8th, 2013
Dear Kaylee, 

I visited you last night, with your Uncle David. We only stopped by for 10 minutes as we “happened to be in the neighborhood” (though you are 27 miles away). Uncle David started laughing and said,

“Gees, dad. ‘Kaylee this and Kaylee that.’”
Then we got into a discussion with your mommy about why I get such a kick being around you, and did Uncle David feel the same way? Obviously, you are my granddaughter, so it isn’t a tough to figure out for my part, but what about Uncle David?
You are his first niece or nephew. Being an uncle has been exciting for him and your Uncle Greg. But, then your mommy said something very insightful.
“Dad, you are so excited because you have already had kids and you know how much you love them. David is excited, too, but once he has kids of his own, then he will be thrilled, but probably less excited with other nieces/ nephews that come along.”
This makes so much sense. Although I  love my nieces and nephews very much, and love the children of my extended family, there is just something about being a grandpa that goes way deeper than that.
My baby girl has a baby girl.
The chance to experience what other grandparents have taught me over the years.
A focus for your grandma and me that really brings out pure joy and makes us appreciate more what we have together.
I know we are parents, and adore your mommy and your uncles, but that isn’t always a joyous occasion :) We are growing to love and appreciate your daddy, too. We share friends together and ministry together and all the rest, but, with you there is just smiles that almost hurt because they are stretching our faces so much! I think about it this way.
When daddy’s and mommy’s have babies, it doesn’t automatically strengthen their marriage. Having children is amazing, but it is also super tough and God’s grace goes a long way!
Yet, when mommy’s and daddy’s kids grow up and they start having children, it does seem to really build up grandmas and grandpas in their own marriage, if they let it. It brings a surprising amount of joy.
Kaylee, you are a fountain of joy pouring over your grandma and me right now.
Not a shock. God is really good with fountains…
Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #11

August 2nd, 2013

Dear Kaylee,

Three weeks ago, today, the day you were born, is a good experiment for your mommy and daddy to understand God’s love. It goes something like this.

When you came out of your mommy’s womb, those first few moments for your mommy and daddy were filled with:

terror- is everything going to be alright?

ecstatic joy- most exciting feeling ever

confusion- now what are we supposed to do with this tiny creature?

wonder- how can anything be so perfect as this?

But, most of all, what filled your daddy and mommy down to the bottom of their hearts into the depths of their souls is this-

love…

Kaylee, you didn’t do anything, but appear. You took your first breaths, wiggled for the first time, and made your first sounds, but that’s it. Guess what?

Your mommy will never love you any more than on that day. Same for your daddy.

Your mommy will never love you any less than that day. Daddy, too.

And you didn’t do a thing…

Why is this?

You can thank God.

The love your mommy and daddy had for you when they saw you for the first time is based on what God put into them when He made them. It is a love that doesn’t depend on anything you do or don’t do. It is a love that can’t be earned. It is a love that is based on the simple fact that you are Kaylee. Your mommy and daddy love you exactly who you are and nothing will ever make them love you more or less than on that day, July 12, 2013.

This is helpful for you to remember when you get to spend more and more time getting to know God. He is your loving Father in heaven who loves you exactly as you are because you are Kaylee. Nothing you do or don’t do is ever going to change His love. You don’t need to earn His love so you don’t have to try. You are his precious daughter and he adores you always. Never more or less that at this specific moment. God the Father loves like that.

And God is so smart that he wires mommys and daddys to love the same way. They just have to keep remembering what it was like that first day they saw you face to face.

There she is…Our precious Kaylee!

Love,

Grandpa

How To Be A Christian Without Being A Jerk

Faith in real life