The other day I met a friend at the mall, after our lunch together we strolled through several stores admiring the beautiful Christmas decorations. The mall was very festive with the music and sparkling glitter of the season. As we were admiring the beautiful tree ornaments for sale in the stores, she said, “Sometimes I think it would be nice to get all new tree ornaments. But then, the new ones wouldn’t have memories.”

I agreed with my friend because each year as I get out my tree ornaments I have happy memories. The salt dough angels, snowmen etc. my boys and I painted about 40 years ago. The four angel ornaments on the tree one of my sons received remind me of when he was a special character in a Christmas production. The ornaments on our trees give us special memories reminding us of who gave them to us or where we purchased them.

As grandparents, we cherish memories and reminiscence about the past. Now during this Christmas season let us ask ourselves, “What kind of memories will we leave by our Christmas traditions and the way we live our lives?

Jennifer Kennedy Dean, in her book, Legacy of Prayer, writes, “All that I invest in my personal relationship with the Lord will yield a hundred-fold increase (Mark 4:8) and will provide spiritual shelter for future generations.” As we invest in our walk with the Lord, we are investing in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

In Exodus 20:6, we read, “But I will lavish my love to those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.” Let’s demonstrate our love and obedience to God so he will lavish His love on our future descendents. When times get tough for our grandchildren we hope they will have memories of our example of finding a safe place of refuge in our Lord Jesus Christ.

During this Christmas season, let’s ask ourselves, “What kind of memories am I leaving for my descendents?” It will be either a positive godly memory or a negative godly memory. One of the greatest gifts we could give them would be the memory of praying grandparents who walked close to the Lord.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Lillian Penner