A Grandmother's Legacy

My Grandmother, My Mother and Myself

Today was my grandmother’s birthday.  I have been thinking a lot about her lately, probably because we shared January birthdays and she went home to be with the Lord on Valentine’s Day several years ago.  The other night, I went Salsa dancing for my 43rd birthday. You see, I love to dance. I grew up around Mexican music and probably perfected the Cumbia before walking.  Dancing is the only “sport” I excel in and the only form of exercise I will do without complaint.  The music was great and I could have danced all night. Soon, I out lasted my friends, and then my sisters, and finally my husband. I kept dancing even if I danced alone, figuring it was my birthday and I would dance until my Bayer Aspirin wore off.

Suddenly, I got a flashback of my grandmother at her 80th birthday party.  My grandmother loved to dance. Whenever her favorite music would play, her face lit up and she had the energy of a young girl again.  At her party, one of her favorite bands performed and my grandma out danced us all.  I just had to stop and smile at the memory.  As you can see from the photo, I inherited her great looks and I will claim three other awesome qualities: her love of music and dance, ability to look adorable in almost any hat (only one other family member can claim this), and my dry sense of humor.  I wish she was here to read my Blog because I bet she’d be giving me some great material.

Of all her wonderful qualities, there is one that I treasure as her greatest gift to her family.  It was her righteous fear of God.  My grandmother was a God-fearing woman who raised her family with a healthy respect for God, church and prayer.  Some people associate the word “fear” with being afraid, like a child would be of the boogie man. But the definition of righteous fear means to be in awe, have reverence, an attitude of deep respect, to bow, to have intense love and admiration.  This is the fear of the Lord my grandmother illustrated for us.

God deserves our righteous fear. We should be in awe of His great works, like creation, the working of our human body, the majesty of the universe, and the gift of His son Jesus.  He also rewards and blesses those who fear Him.

Psalm 31:19 How great is your goodness, which you stored up for those who fear you. 
Psalm 33: 18-19 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 34: 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom, knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Psalm 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.
Psalm 85:9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him.

My grandmother’s reverence for the Lord passed on blessings to her children and to her grandchildren.  Did you know that the Lord will bless your family if you put your faith in Him and follow in His ways?

Psalm 103:17-18 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 25:12-14 (NLT) Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose. They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.

My grandmother gave us a great foundation for our faith in God.  The Bible says that those that build their faith on a solid foundation will be able to withstand the storms of life, the attacks from the enemy, and the fatigue of disappointments.

Mathew 7:24-25 (CEV) Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on a solid rock.  Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and wind beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on a solid rock.

But you see, my grandmother’s faith was only our foundation. It is up to us to build our houses.  Because I work with preschoolers, I am going to use a preschool analogy.  You remember the story of the three little pigs? You guessed it, we are the pigs.  The houses represent our lives and how we live them.  The first pig was lazy and wanted to take the easy road.  Straw is light and easy to carry. He could build his house with little effort and he’d have plenty of time to party.  The second pig was a little smarter.  He built his house out of sticks.  This took a little more effort like going to church on Christmas and Easter, having a Bible around in case company comes over or praying when we mess up and need a miracle. Come on, we have all tried to build stick houses.  We want something that is going to be sturdy, but do we really want to exert all the energy it takes to build with bricks.  They’re heavy!  The story did not end well for the first and second pigs. The wolf blew down their houses and he had them for lunch. Just to spell it out for you, the wolf is the devil.

1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Finally, we should aim to be the pig that built his house out of brick and outsmarted the wolf.  Bricks are heavier and take more effort than straw or sticks. Bricks make us work harder than we have ever worked and will make us sweat, I can promise you.  But if we live our lives, with a reverence for God, He promises us salvation through His son Jesus, protection from the enemy, strength to make it through the storms of life and a peace that will surpass your human expectations.  He is not asking that our brick houses be perfect or mansions.  Just an honest, genuine effort on our part.  He will supply the rest.  My grandmother was not a perfect person. No one is. But her gift and legacy were pretty close.  I found a quote by the writer Sam Keen that helps explain my gratitude and affection for my grandmother, “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” That is how God sees us. He sees the “imperfect person perfectly” through the blood of Jesus that covers us.

So for all of us parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, it is our job to leave a legacy for our children and their children's children.  We don't have to be perfect for our children, we just have to point them to the ONE that is.

Happy Birthday Grandma. I can't wait to dance with you again!

Love Yolanda


PS: We will be dancing the Cumbia in Heaven. Here is a little Latin Praise music: