MY GRANDPARENTS
Look at these hands, they have clearly aged together, the stories they could tell. The first touch, the tears wiped, the tickles, the touches. There is something very endearing to me when I see older people holding hands. Holding one another as though to pull them close, and keep them safe all in the same movement. To protect one another, to share with the world that you are one. It is simply precious.
Next week my husband and I are flying to Florida to visit my grandparents. They are MY HEROS. They are the two people in my life who have been consistent, who have always been there, no matter what the situation or circumstance. Even though they were hundreds of miles away, if I needed them they were there for me.
Since I was a very small child, I have always admired my grandparents as individuals and most definitely as a couple. As I am reflecting on their presents in my life ~ I am reminded of so many things. I can hear the sounds of my grandmother reading to me. Honestly, when I am reading to my children, it is my grandmother's voice I hear. When I was a child my grandmother & I would write letters to one another, many letters. I loved to write my grandmother and was over the moon when I got a letter back. She taught me to love writing, the art of putting your thoughts onto a piece of paper and sharing with someone you love and trust. My grandmother taught me about being honest, you never cheat when you are playing games and you never get too prideful when you win. Be proud yes, prideful no. Thank you notes are a must! If it is done for you, show gratitude for it. A simple "thank you" touches a heart deeply. When you are near family, touch them, sit close, hold hands and always hug. Always be loving. Holding hands was always special with my grandparents. I loved and still love having my hand in theirs, it made them being near real for me.
My grandparents as a couple have shared with me, family should always no matter what come first. There is nothing more important in this life than those we love. And we need to love our family unconditionally. We all make mistakes. Forgive them. You need not always forget the mistakes, but yes, forgive. Speak kindly to one another. Say your please and thank you, always use your best manners as this is a reflection of yourself and your family. Be proud of who you are and where you come from.
We aren't all the same. Sometimes family is quirky and drives you bonkers, love them anyway. Never give up on family. There will be seasons in life when you don't understand what in the world someone is thinking or doing, love them anyway. Pray for one another, lift one another and always show support for one another. Family is a gift, treasure it.
My grandparents taught me about love. My grandmother told me once that she and my grandfather did argue. The key for them was "turn off the stupid TV and talk to one another". She shared that you have to communicate with one another to know what the issue is. Never ignore an issue, face it and try to fix it. Always make time for one another. Date nights need not be fancy. Being married isn't always about ME. It is about US. Build your spouse, love them and lift them and tell them daily you love them. Always kiss your spouse hello and good bye. When dining out or dining in, sit close to one another. When you are walking, walk together. Laugh and laugh often with one another. Share your thoughts, support one another's goals and dreams. Admire, adore and be proud of one another.
I am so excited about this trip as I am taking my husband to meet my grandparents for the first time. The two people who I aspire to be more like, the couple who have shown me what true love is.
I think about my grandparents when I think about growing old with my husband. I see many of the same traits in us that I see in them, I would suspect some of these traits have been learned from watching them all these years. And I suspect too that God has known all along my longing for such a beautiful loving relationship.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, I they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
When I hold my husbands hands I look at them. I look at them so I see those young strong hands with their fingers wrapped in one another. I want to remember them like this. One day, I will look down and I will smile, my eyes may leak and I will see in our hands, and they will look like my grandparents. Hands that have held one another through the years. Hands that have shared life's ups and downs, joys and pains, celebrations and loss. Hands which have prayed with one another and for one another.
I am looking forward to sharing my amazing grandparents with my husband, so proud to share with him the two people who have taught me what love is and how to love him. And I am equally proud to share with my grandparents my incredible husband, the man who God put in my life so that I too may experience TRUE LOVE.
Today I am thankful my grandparents, who have held my hands and my heart for my entire life and the man who holds my hand and has my heart for the rest of my life.