Heart Hope by Olga

My grandchildren love to play the game "hide and scare grandmother." They will squat down behind a doorway or a piece of furniture and then jump out, taking me by surprise. Most of the time, I am well aware of their location, but will play along just to participate in their fun.  The Bible tells us that we have to be careful, because sin is crouching at our doorway; it desires to attack and destroy us, but it doesn’t have to have control over us. We can overcome its power, but in order to do so, we are told that we must master it.  Mastering something takes time and effort; it also requires diligence and a watchful eye. If I master a foreign language or a sport, there is no guarantee that it will last without continuing to practice it. Sin is the same; when I begin to think that I have conquered it, that is the time I must be most watchful for more attacks. Just as I can be aware of where my grandchildren are hiding, I also need to be aware of particular sins that have tri...

It was one of those evenings when the grandkids had been up too late and got beyond the point of no return. It was a team effort to get them to bed. Will had his bath and was in his jammies, so we went to lie in his bed to get him settled down. I thought that the best thing to do was have him close his eyes and pray. Since I knew it would take a while to get him quieted I began to pray through his body. I started with his head and prayed that God would give him a good mind that he would learn about God and desire to know Him early in life. I prayed for his eyes, that he would be able to see the needs of people in the world and that he would see as God sees. I requested that God would use his mouth to speak forth truth and use kind words. I prayed for his ears that God would help him to listen carefully to His words and learn what the Bible says. I prayed for his heart that God would help him to love other people and show them kind actions. His hands were blessed to be used for gentle...

* Watching a five year old skip * Hunting for Indians on the hill in the backyard * Puppy dog and princess pajamas * Hearing, “That’s bootiful” and “I like that” from an almost 3 yr old * Abundant laughter * Seeing the patience of my daughter as she parents * Races in the yard * Soft hands stroking me in the morning * Hearing my name, Olgie, used hundreds of times a day * Watching my son-in-law play as hard as the kids And the list could go on and on… Can you tell that I have just spent the last three weeks with my grandchildren? It was so much fun, but boy am I tired. The house just does not sound right today; it is too quiet. There is no running or screaming, no cartoons or dinosaur movies and no out of control giggling. The neighborhood children have not been knocking on our backdoor and there is no afternoon popcorn. Whoever said, “The best part of being a grandparent is being able to send them home,” was wrong in my book. I am already looking forward to September when I will see t...