April 30, 2026

Our families are a treasure. Generational relationships were huge to me when I was a child. I can remember watching my great grandfather walk down the street toward me one afternoon. He walked with a cane. I was five years old, but I knew his walk as well as anyone’s. His manner. He drank his coffee from a saucer, and he ate peas off a knife. He always complimented my mother’s cooking and I adored him.

All my grandparents are alive in my memories. I hear their words. Their laughter. I feel their hugs. I used to hang outside the adult conversation circles at family gatherings, hoping to hear those stories people tell when sitting with people who remember a shared childhood. Or who lived as a family. When we consider life, those lessons we learned from parents and siblings, it won’t be money, career accolades, or education that we’ll find spellbinding. Our legacy will be the memories, the love, the preparation for life from family, we will cherish as we walk into Glory.

It’s a joy to grow up and develop our personalities and careers. But never forget the people God placed in your life, the ones He knew would teach, love and train you to the best of their abilities. As we become grandparents, as we have our own turn at training, leading and praying for our young, remember they will always look back on us, knowing we were set into their lives for a reason.

Dear Lord, I thank You for my family. I thank You for the people who came before me and for those who will eventually follow. Help me respect and honor their sacrifices as they often gave food, time, and patience when they were tired and would have preferred rest. Father, I know generations are important to you. May I always recognize the gift these people were to me.

He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:7