During the Christmas holidays, my husband and I get to spend a bit more time with our family, especially our grandchildren. It is always time well spent and thoroughly enjoyed.
But when the grandkids head back to school every January, I am always reminded of how quickly time flies. Maybe it’s because I wistfully think of the days in the past when my own boys ended their Christmas break and grudgingly headed back to school. It makes me nostalgic, I guess. So, naturally, I wish I could stop time for a moment or at least make the most of the fleeting days of childhood left with our grandkids.
To circumvent that feeling this year, I have been praying for ways to make each moment count. So, my ears perked up last night when I called a childhood friend, and she told me about her current crafting project.
She is making personalized Christmas cards for each of her grandkids. That sounds sweet and festive, right? But the truth is, she is making much more than a card for each child.
Like many of us, my friend spends a great deal of time praying for her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren. This year, as she has prayed over each grandchild, she took their personal needs to God and then searched His Word to find verses pertaining specifically to each loved one.
She also prayed about what God might want for (and from) each child during this coming year, things both small and large that would draw the child closer to Him and build their faith.
It has not been a quick process. In fact, it has been a continual one that has now culminated in these sweet Christmas cards. It is also a process that she plans to carry out every single year.
Best of all, as she addresses each card to its young recipient, she is not only writing verses for her grandchild but also decreeing and declaring in a short Scripture-filled prayer the things that God has put on her heart for that individual loved one over the past few months.
I listened as she explained how each message is one of encouragement, filled with a genuine love for that child alone. My friend is trusting God to make sure that each card is a divinely inspired prophetic message of hope and victory.
Wow! I was blown away by this idea. What a legacy she is crafting for her grandchildren. Just think what a blessing these cards will be when her grandchildren look back on them as adults. And just imagine what a testimony each child will have when they see that God did indeed accomplish all their grandmother had prayed He would.
I was so inspired by this project that I am praying about how to do it in an abridged way this year, followed by an entire year of praying over my grandchildren and their Christmas cards for 2023.
As we talked, I also shared with my friend something that I do each day for my older grandkids throughout the year – since it grows increasingly harder to spend time with them as they grow older and have so many other activities outside of family time.
First of all, I had to admit that it was not an original idea. An AFR supporter shared it with me one day during a Share-a-thon phone call a couple of years back.
It was perfect timing! So much so, that I was able to start this practice with our oldest granddaughter right when she got her driver’s license. I pitched it as a rite of passage, and she loved the idea. And when our grandson got his license this year, I began sending him a separate, personal daily text as well.
It’s simple!
Every morning, I pray and choose a Bible verse that I feel pertains to each teenager for the day. Then, I text it to each one with no strings attached. They are not required to respond, but sometimes they do. Often, I get cute little emojis back, and occasionally, I get a text telling me what the verse meant to them that day.
Originally, I started this routine without adding comments. But as time went on, I felt led now and then to send a one-sentence message with their daily verse. When I do share my own thoughts, I try and make sure my words are not manipulative or designed to elicit an action or response I want as their grandmother.
I try and pray about what each teen needs, not what I want or need. Of course, that is hard, because what I really want is to hold them and talk with them as babies. But in a thousand ways, they are quick to let me know they are not little babies anymore.
Even so, I am often intrigued each day by the verses I am led to send. Sometimes, the verses are funny; other times, the words are tough and very serious in nature; and now and then, the chosen Scriptures have the weirdest topic. Honestly, each day’s offering seems to have no rhyme or reason.
But I trust that God (the One who knows and loves my grandbabies best) has the perfect message for them in every situation. Because, let’s face it, being a teen in today’s world is tough, especially for a Christian teenager navigating a culture that denies and defies God at every turn.
As my way of helping them through this tough time of life, I have been sending these daily verses for over two years now. At times, I have grown discouraged and wondered if it matters in the scheme of things – especially when I see how quickly they are growing up and away.
But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God’s Word is the best way I can help my grandkids because His words cannot return void. I also know from firsthand experience that His words are life to those who find them.
So, I keep praying and texting and believing that His words of Life will take root and grow in their hearts, minds, and spirits, producing a lifetime of truth and wisdom found only in Christ Jesus. I pray they will grow to hunger for and love His words above all others. And most of all, I pray that He will forever be Lord of their lives.
Likewise, dear parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and mentors: Whether it is through prophetic Christmas cards bathed in prayer, simple text messages straight from the Word of God, or some other creative means, I encourage each of you to reach out to the children in your life.
Make it a priority this Christmas! Find a way to show them “The Way.”
After all, Jesus is the best gift we could ever give them. And according to 3 John 1:4, knowing that our children are walking in His truth is also the greatest, most joy-filled gift we could ever receive.
