The Importance of being "Grampa"

I am a rather blessed man for a number of reasons. I'm still married to my junior high sweetheart, I have 4 amazing children, now grown to adulthood, they all seem to love me and enjoy spending time with my wife and me, and starting later this year I finally qualify for the "Senior Discount" at movie theaters! I'm also blessed because all my children live somewhere close, but other than my house. Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids around and would gladly open my doors should they need a place to stay, but I'm blessed that my kids have reached that stage of self-reliance where they no longer need "dad" to provide for them... as much... at least not in the same way.

I am also blessed because this Summer, I'm going to become a grandpa for the first time. My oldest son and his amazing wife are going to have a boy in August! My wife and I are thrilled and can hardly wait for this blessed event. I am thrilled not only to see my grandson, but also to watch as my son grows into fatherhood. I've mentioned a number of times elsewhere and in this blog about how much my kids have taught me. They have "schooled" me on patience, forgiveness, taming my temper, teaching, using accents while reading stories, even on being a better husband, as well as other life lessons too numerous to mention. He may not realize it today, but my son is about to go back to the "School of Life" and his little boy will be the school-master.

There is one area in which my grandson will have an advantage that I didn't: he will have not 1 but 2 grandpas in his life (Lord willing). "Papa Mike," my daughter-in-law's dad, is an amazing master builder, has a great sense of humor, and is a wonderful man of God. As for me, I look forward to things like teaching my grandson how to think rationally, how to tell a joke, and how to make his voice sound like a cartoon character.

I grew up with no grampas to teach me things and I sometimes wonder how my life would have been different had I had even 1 grampa. My dad's dad died a few years after I was born so I only have only very fuzzy, vague memories of him. He had my dad's smile, for example and he used it as often as we came to visit. He had a soft heart and could never bring himself to spank his children. He used to take them out to the woodshed and tell his kids to scream and cry as he banged the side of the shed with a piece of wood. I never new my mom's dad and she didn't talk about him much, at least not to me. Without a significant sampling of grampas to learn from, I've had to research myself how to be one. During my reading in 2 Chronicles chapter 33 I came across something that I found interesting and significant, namely that grandpas may be more important than I had considered.

In 2 Chron 33 we learn that King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah (a very good king), and grandson to Ahaz (A very bad king), rebelled against his father's godliness and followed the way of his grandfather. Manasseh became king of Judah at 12-years old and ruled for 55 years; longer than any other king. In the beginning of his reign, he led the Children of Israel into worship of foreign gods. In fact Manasseh was such a bad king and the God of Israel became so displeased with him, that God sent the king of Assyria to take him captive. It was during this time of imprisonment that Manasseh repented and humbled himself before God and was eventually released and returned to Judah as king.

When Manasseh died, his son, Amon, became king at the age of 22 (2 Chron 33:21). He was a bad king and only reigned for 2 years before he was assassinated by his own servants. Amon's son, Josiah took the throne at the age of 8 and was considered one of the best kings Judah had ever seen (2 Chron 34). During his 31-year reign, he was responsible for pulling down the worship groves of foreign cults and leading the nation back to the worship of the God of Israel. How is it that Josiah, a godly king could have turned out so well when his father was such a bad king that he got himself assassinated? I think the answer lies with grampa Manasseh.

If one works out the chronology of these three kings (and I may be off a year or two here and there), it looks to me like the 1st 6-7 years of Josiah's life would have been during the last years of Manasseh's reign. We know that at some point Manasseh repented and tried to be a "good" king even though the people did not listen to him. Amon would have been born 30-some years after the death of good king Hezekiah and so would never have met his grandfather. He would have been a young prince around 15-years old when Josiah was born and it is reasonable to assume that teen-aged Amon would have had very little interest in being any kind of a father to a young child.  This would have left the role of "father figure" during the very impressionable first few years of Josiah's life to the now repentant and God-fearing grandpa Manasseh. At least, that's what I choose to believe.

Some people rage against the unfairness of "old age" even as they fall victim to a sense of uselessness and disability while others greet it as a friend, accepting and embracing it for what it can be: a new adventure with new responsibilities, challenges, and victories. I believe that the story of "grampa Manasseh" can can give us hope that there are still goals to strive for and influence to wield regardless of one's age. You never know what you can accomplish until called upon to try and starting this Summer, I will be called upon.

Hurry up, little Anthem! Grampa Scott has a lot to share with you!

St. Isidore de Seville: Patron Saint of the Internet?

I'm not much in to jewelry myself.  I have two rings, a wedding band and a ring that is silver and gold. The gold reminds me of my divine nature, made in the image of the Creator and the silver that I was redeemed by a price.  There's more to the story behind this ring but I'll save that for another time. The reason I mention this is because I've recently added something new. A medallion of St. Isidore de Seville around my neck. St. Isidore is the Catholic's patron saint of the internet, technology, and computers and their users. Now, before you wonder if I've converted to Catholicism, hang in there for a bit and let me explain.

St. Isidore lived around 1600 years ago, which if nothing else makes his sainted patronage noteworthy. He was a stalwart advocate of education who believed seminaries should include classes on science, literature, medicine, and other academic subjects. In short, he was not afraid of information that might seem to contradict the Spiritual Truth. He also was responsible for creating an encyclopedia which remained in use for hundreds of years after his death. You may not pray to the saints, but you must admit that he was a remarkable man.

Despite his being remarkable, I don't pray to him for guidance or miracles but I do remember him. I remember his desire to educate, to disseminate Knowledge and not just speak Truth. If we, as Christians, are afraid of science or medicine, we cut ourselves off from a rather large part of God's creation. There is much we can learn, much we need to learn about this world we live in and our place in the cosmos. An atheist can look at the night sky and ask, "Where is God?" but Christians should look at the same panorama of stars, galaxies, nebulas, and temporal anomalies (threw that one in for my Star Trek fan friends) and see His handiwork everywhere. You may be asking yourself "What does this have to do with a saint, the thing over which he was granted patronage wasn't even invented for a millennium and a half after his death?" I'm getting to that.

In John 9, starting at verse 6 we see Jesus heal a blind man. He took some dust, spit on it and made clay, then put that mess into the blind man's eyes. Then he told the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam (which means "sent" by the way). The man's healing was realized after he did what Jesus told him. Great story. What I find interesting is that in Mark 8, beginning with verse 22 Jesus encountered another blind man. This one he led out of the city and spit in his eyes and laid hands on them to give him sight. And even more interesting is that in Matthew 9:27, Jesus healed 2 blind men with only a touch and the phrase "Become what you believe" (or "According to your faith be it unto you" for our King James stalwarts that believe it was the translation that Paul used).

Jesus healed with dirt and spit, with just spit, and with just a touch and a few words. If Jesus could have healed all four men with just a touch, why all the spit and mud? I believe the answer lies in the question he asked the two blind men in Matthew. "Do you believe I can do this?" They may not have realized it, but they set the stage for their healing when they answered "We do!" It was the confession of their faith that healed them through the touch of the Messiah. From this I conclude that the blind man in Mark needed the spit to trigger his faith and the one in John had to have mud put in his eyes to activate his faith. We see this in so many places, Jairus told Jesus that if he were to touch his little girl, she would be healed ("Don't be afraid, only believe") The centurion knew that Jesus only had to speak the words to heal his servant("I have not found such faith in all of Israel"). The woman with the issue of blood was absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that should she touch even just the hem of Jesus' robes that she would be healed ("According to your faith...").

According to your faith, be it unto you. What is it that you believe Jesus can do in your life? Or more importantly, what do you believe he CAN'T do? C. S. Lewis, arguably the greatest Christian apologist of the twentieth century put it this way: "We are what we believe we are." What do you believe you are? The Word says we are Kings, Priests, Joint Heirs with Christ. Do you believe it? So often we believe what others say we are and don't dare aspire to anything more. What do you tell your children? They will believe what you tell them.

So, what does this have to do with St. Izzy? When I think of him, I remember that God is sovereign over technology. That He watches over computer users. That Al Gore had very little to do with the creation of the internet. Also, I remember that I do not need to fear information. Knowledge can only confirm the presence of God in the universe-- IF one approaches facts with an open mind. If you don't believe in the possibility of the Divine, you will never see Him no matter where you look. If, on the other hand you DO believe in a Creator, you will see Him, no matter where you look.

I used to have a motto in Latin: Aut viam invenium, aut faciam. It was reportedly said by Hannibal when he was told he would never get elephants through the Alps to attack Rome and means "I will find a way, or invent one." But now, I have a new motto. One inspired by St. Isidore de Seville, patron saint of the internet, technology, and computer users: Conari vicis id de, tum vicis id in. Which roughly translated means "Try turning it off, then on."