“…make them known to your children,

and your children’s children.”

–Deuteronomy 4:9

When I was a boy, my siblings and I would spend a month each summer visiting our grandparents in Greensboro, NC. It was always a special time as they lived eight hours away. During those extended stays they would ask about our friends and fuss over our accomplishments at school. They would prepare favorite foods and take us to the Elk Lodge to swim when it was especially hot. In sum, they spoiled us rotten!

One summer, I was the oldest grandchild in their home. Both of my older brothers had summer jobs in Georgia and thus couldn’t join us. My grandfather, in particular, seemed to understand how important that temporary family status was for me. He helped me earn money by mowing the grass for his sister, taught me how to shoot a gun, and whenever there was an errand, would invite me along.  

Every few days we would sneak out to a particular location. The signal was when he would announce to my grandmother “John and I need to go tend to some business” and then we would head to our favorite doughnut shop. While reluctant to offer free advertising in this blog, it was the place that turns on an illuminated sign when its product is hot! My grandmother, of course, suspected where we were going and would sometimes want us to admit it. We never confirmed her guess.  

“Tending to business” was a blessing and not just because it satisfied my sweet tooth. It was great to swap tales and share my 12 year old view of the world with him. I enjoyed watching his interaction with the person behind the counter and times when he would run into a friend and offer a joke. Yet the best part, by far, was how important those trips made me feel. Simply being with him one-on-one was the gift I treasured most. I never visit that franchise to this day without thinking of him. 

The Scripture verse above recalls the importance of one generation with the next one as well. It comes from a day when Moses charges the Israelites with remembering all that God has done in bringing them to freedom.  “But take care and watch yourselves closely,” he said “so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.”  Certainly, passing on the faith to the next generation is an essential task for us, but there are other gifts we have to share with them, too.

I hope during this summer that you are “tending to business” with the important people in your life. It’s an opportunity not limited to grandparents. Nor does it require doughnuts. Yet it is something each of us can do. To let others know the blessing they are in your life just by choosing to spend time with them. Don’t underestimate the impact now or its lasting power. After all, it’s a gift that can only be given by you.   

Ever-present One, we celebrate the gift of time. Help us to use it wisely so that the important people in our life will know that they are treasured. Amen.