Greg and Sue Smith
CBF Field Personnel, Carthage, Ark.
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” –Ruth 1:16
Have you ever found yourself staring at something—or someone—so intently that, without realizing it, you were crying? It could be a beautiful landscape vista that created in you an amazing sense of awe. Or a masterful painting that penetrated your soul more deeply than anything ever had before. Or an act of kindness so genuine and compassionate that it reminded you, despite humanity’s waywardness, that God did pronounce our creation to be “very good.”
I have. I recently found myself brushing away a tear. It happened when I beheld, as if for the first time, the gift of my grandchild. Just the thought of that moment even now brings tremendous life, joy and peace to my soul.
Sue and I have six grandchildren, each a gift of salvation. Together, a gift more wonderful than words can describe. A gift that saves me time and again.
Whether my gift comes…
When one of my grandchildren cries out “Pappa” or “Abuelo” (I go by both!); or
When I kneel next to the younger grandchildren and watch the helicopters and airplanes take off and land at the local airport; or
When I hang a picture on our wall or a drawing created with care on our refrigerator; or
When I toss a ball or shoot hoops and we talk about the day; or
When I watch them play with their friends with such joy and enthusiasm; or
When I hold our youngest in my arms and gaze at a big, toothless smile looking back…
It’s all the same. Each is a precious, wonderful and joyful gift from a loving and saving God.
The biblical Ruth couldn’t contemplate life without her family. That is the essence of her plea to her mother-in-law Naomi not to send her away. While I cannot “cling to” my grandchildren as Ruth clung to Naomi, I share her sentiment of life as unbearable apart from the ones who give meaning and joy to our own.
If I had enough space here, I would also include Sue, my children, my parents, my sister and her family and others as God’s gifts of salvation in my life.
But the faces, smiles, laughter, silliness—even the mischievousness—of my grandchildren signify at this stage of my life a vital, yea critical, way God is saving me.
¡A Dios sea la gloria!
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Who or what brings so much joy to your life that imaging it moves you to tears? Today, ponder how God might be using this gift as a part of God’s salvation, your restoration and your wholeness.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.