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!
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