Gratefulness

   A group of grandmothers were lamenting the fact that our grandchildren no longer write thank-you notes or acknowledge our gifts.  Behind this grumbling is a deeper concern.  We want our grandchildren to be happy, and it is difficult to be happy and ungrateful.  In a world where children have so much, how can they be grateful for "one more thing?" And how do you teach children to be grateful for relationships and the gift of life itself?

   One idea is to play a game with your grandchild in which you both think of all the ways you can say"thank you" (letters, phone calls, Emails, smiles, hugs, words etc.)

   Challenge your grandchild to find five things to be thankful for every day

   Some young children love learning new words.  Teach them ways to say thank you: merci (Frence); gracias (Spanish); danke (German); grazie (Italian).

   AND we have a Bible story that tells us about being thankful.  It is found in our Bibles in Luke 17:11-20.

   You can experience this story with a Bible say-along here.
 

Telling our Stories

   Recently I was in the audience of a renowned speaker.  He was explaining a complicated theory.  Then he began to tell a story.  The audience which had been EGO (eyes glazed over) suddenly perked up.  What is it about a story that interests us so much?

   As we think together about telling our grandchildren our faith stories I recall the following quote.  (If anyone knows the author of this quote I will gladly print it.)

And Jesus said,

"Who do you say I am?"

And they answered,

"You are the eschatological

manifestation of the ground

of our being, the kergyma

in which we found the

ultimate meaning of our

interpersonal relationship."

And Jesus said,

"What?"

   Forget the theological explanations--tell me a story.  There is no need to explain what our grandchildren should learn from these stories or to use cloudy theological terms. These stories are a gift from us to them.  We tell our stories for the pleasure of it as we go about the important task of planting deep spiritual roots.

      

Introduction

     Some years ago I met a grandmother who had traveled ninety hours by train across Russia to attend a faith conference in Austria. Her reason for coming was simply stated: "My daughter knows very few of our faith stories.  My granddaughter knows none of them, and I am beginning to forget."

   Her words reminded me again of the important role of grandparents in passing on the traditions and stories and visions of our faith.  We are a link in the chain of generations. Many of us in my generation have Bible stories echoing in our memories and resonating in our lives and imaginations.  Will our grandchildren know these stories?  Can we share them before we too begin to forget?

   Our gospel, our good news is a story made up of many stories.  Stories tell us who we are and to whom we belong.  Will our grandchildren be shaped only by the stories from the mass media and the consumer marketplace?  In the midst of ever-changing religious commuities, can our faith provide a significant source of identity for our grandchildren?

   These are the questions that propelled me to share this blog.  It is taken from my book, Grandmother Time Again, published by Dimensions for Living Press and no longer in print.  I will be sharing stories and the virtue they seek to teach.  We will also explore "How well do you know your grandchild?" and offer simple activites you and your grandchild can do together.

  I would love to be in conversation with you and hear your ideas.