The example that we as parents and grandparents show our children sticks with them their whole lives.
My parents always helped whoever they could and did it with a cheerful heart. They taught us the importance of family. They helped and cared for their parents and siblings when needed. But there was one time that their willing hearts impressed me especially deeply.
There was a large family on our street. The older children had gone to the same schools as my older sisters. At one point, the oldest daughter, already independent and living away from home, became pregnant. She was single. Her father was elderly by this time, and was taking care of her mom who was ill. So, my sisters asked my mother if this woman could stay with us for one or two months after the baby was born. And my mom, being the kind soul that she was, promptly agreed.
A few days later, this woman and her baby girl arrived from the hospital. She was cared for like a daughter and sister by all of us. She became part of our family during those months she was with us. I, being the youngest of my family, had never seen such a small baby being cared for, and I was enchanted by it all.
Soon this mother was back on her feet and went back to her work as a designer. A few years later she bought an apartment in front of my mother’s home, and every time I went back to visit my mom, I got to see her little girl. I watched as she grew into a wonderful teen and then a young woman.
That was the gospel being lived in front of my eyes—giving a hand to someone in need. I saw the love and consideration in my parents’ attitude, and the twinkle in my mother’s eyes because she could help that dear young woman.
Isn’t this like what Jesus did for us, only on a much larger scale? He saw our need and came down to earth to teach us how to live, and then He died for us on the cross, so we could be free from sin and be part of His glorious family forever! That’s what God’s love looks like!