Article April 29, 2013 Issue

Prayer from the 'Grandma seat'

Diane Block

Parents learn their craft only by experience. All the books in the world cannot teach one what really lies ahead in the adventure of raising children. Once that baby wriggles free of your arms and starts that crawl of discovery, only some of their behavior will pattern what you expect. Child development is said to be influenced by many factors, but there actually exists an individuality in each person that has nothing to do with human predictions or material laws. The parent has the awesome opportunity to discover this.

I understand this better now that I sit in the “Grandma seat.” And as I watch my own children raising their families (and doing it very well), I find myself laughing a great deal. It is humorous to me that my sons are giving lectures to the young men who come to call on their daughters, or rolling their eyes at such a prospect. It is hysterical to listen to my daughters lament over missing clothes and shoes, which their daughters find are cool enough to be worn to middle school. But the thing I enjoy the most is watching my children’s and grandchildren’s lives continue to unfold as more and more of their spiritual individuality becomes apparent.

When we think of man as the expression of God, all things become possible.