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| My grandparents, Florene and Quentin Nordyke |
What did your family teach you? They teach you what to value, what is precious in this world. Some families teach that new cars are important. Some teach that going to college is important. Some teach that pursuing your dreams are important or that eating healthy is important. Our families- parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents -all shape our lives and teach us what to value by what they spend their time and money on. All their little decisions and actions add up over a childhood. Today I want to talk about what my grandparents taught me.
I grew up 1000 miles away from my grandparents. They lived in Salem, Oregon while I grew up in Billings, Montana. They never let that distance keep them from teaching their Friesen grandchildren. Every summer they rented a house on the Oregon coast for them and their kids and grandparents. Every year, for a week we spend time together. Playing on the beach, reading, watching movies, eating meals together. We went crabbing, visited museums, prayed and lived together. Every year, they spent their money and their time, not on cruises, but on their family.
Growing up, my grandparents would pay each grandchild for every piece of scripture we memorized and recited to them at the beach house. God’s word was so important to them that they were willing to bribe us to memorize it. So every summer turned into a rigorous mental workout so we could collect as much booty as possible every August. I don’t remember what I bought, but I do remember which scriptures I memorized.
I don’t know much about my grandparents. Because we lived so far apart the time we did spend together was limited. Also, for much of the time I was a child, who are notoriously self-centered and unaware of the world. Despite this, my grandparents used their time wisely. They planted few seeds, but diligently toiled and those seeds grew up and became some of the roots of my life.
My grandparents taught me that service is important. They taught me how to grow old with dignity and love. They taught me about love and forgiveness and never being too old to not understand how God is working. They taught me how to be vulnerable. I have seen both my grandparents brought to tears by the love of God. They taught me what it means to be a Godly man and what a Godly woman looks like.
I want to thank my grandparents. They have given me so much, so much that I can never repay them. I started this blog post to thank them for their financial gift, which is the basis for this trip south, but I guess that in some ways, it is the least of the gifts they have given me.
Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa.
