GrandGrams #8, Written by Beth Sheldon
“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
– Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP, emphasis mine
I remember the day our grandson, Eli, asked me in his backyard, “Hey Grandma, is it okay with you if I call you Gram?”
My speedy response was, “Sure, Eli! I’d love that!”
Little did I know that the small seed of something had been deposited deep inside my heart. Unexpectedly, the idea popped inside my head to research the meaning of gram. I found out that one of the definitions of gram is the seed inside of legumes that are used for food. Gram can also be defined as a seed, grain, or kernel. The thought tickled me that God can use me to be a seed sower in the lives of my grandchildren. I can deposit intentional seeds in their lives that will feed and bring nourishment to them as they are growing into the fulfillment of their created purpose.
Another cool revelation came to me as I read on to discover that gram can also mean something written, plotted, or drawn, something carved or used to communicate something. I suddenly realized that by investing in the many ways I’ve been uniquely designed by God to communicate to my grandchildren, I become a meaningful messenger in their lives, impressing upon their hearts, like a carving, the truths of God’s word, His love and His Kingdom that will encourage them to arise and shine in the light of God’s glory dwelling uniquely inside of them. These “carvings” help shape the beliefs inside their hearts, anchoring them in identity, belonging, and purpose as children of a good and loving Heavenly Father.
I remembered the passage in Deuteronomy that says, “Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths]” (Deuteronomy 4:9 AMP).
The things my eyes have seen and my heart has experienced through my journeyings with Jesus are powerful vehicles to impress upon my grandchildren’s hearts about God’s faithfulness, His provision, His protection, His promises, and ever so much more, by revealing the ways of His Kingdom realm manifesting here and empowering them to reign in life through their intimate connection with Him. How wonderful that every generation of our families can taste and see that the Lord is good as we share who God really is with them!
Interestingly, at the time of Eli’s question, I also felt the initial stirrings of a dream to call my generation, commonly known as “Baby Boomers”, into more meaningful connections with their grandchildren. I longed to see an awakening in us as grandparents to our divinely appointed purpose of becoming intentional, impactful, Kingdom-minded grandparents who were actively pursuing deep connections across the generations of our family.
It was as if Holy Spirit had plopped a “gram” inside of me. A seed with untapped potential to grow and produce meaningful sustenance for rising generations of those who would taste and see its goodness and receive nourishment from its message.
Even more delightful was the discovery that “gram” is a nickname for “Grandma!” I categorically and delightfully want to be that Kingdom “Gram” God has chosen to impress His love and truth upon their hearts and call out the gold and glory God has deposited inside of each one of them.
To clarify even more, I discovered that “gram” can also mean “to write” or “a small writing or message.” It also means “a small weight.” I thought about blogging, thereby releasing small writings full of big encouragements for us as a grandparenting community who love God’s heart and want to walk in the ways of “His Kingdom come here on earth” with our grandchildren. My vision is to see these GrandGrams be full of equipping graces and messages that inspire us to actively pursue God’s heart for our grandchildren and sow the seeds of His Kingdom within them. Although these seeds are tiny, they carry immense impact and influence into and through their lives!
Jesus said in Matthew 13:33 TPT that “Heaven’s kingdom can be compared to yeast that a woman takes and blends into three measures of flour and then waits until all the dough rises.” Those tiny “grams” we are sowing may look unimpressive, but as they penetrate and rise in the lives of our grandchildren, immense is their impact and influence!
Tah-dah! This is the story of how “GrandGrams” were born!