Children are a gift from the Lord. . . . How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!

~Psalm 127:3–5 NLT

“Would you like to keep our kids, too, tomorrow?”

The holiday season had arrived. I was out on Thanksgiving break, and our daughter was great with child. We had already kept her three kids for a day while she and our son-in-law shopped locally. She didn’t feel like going out of town and could only walk around for a few hours before she was done.

Then came the Saturday after Black Friday. Our son and his wife had already asked if we could keep two of their three boys so they could go Christmas shopping. We had agreed.

As I sat in my recliner two nights before, resting, my text went off. That’s when my daughter asked if we could keep their three boys. I looked at my wife and relayed the question. We love our grandboys—all six and soon to be seven of them—but five at a time? And two of them under three.

“I guess,” came her response.

But we didn’t know how long we would have to keep them. Additionally, I had to take my mom for a hair appointment and my stepdad to the grocery store. Our kids planned to head to the Mall of Atlanta. Why anyone would go to Atlanta on purpose, I couldn’t imagine. My daughter and son-in-law weren’t excited about the trip to Atlanta, but to appease her brother, our daughter agreed.

From 7:30 in the morning until 9:30 that evening, we kept five rambunctious boys. Thankfully, we had recently moved into a home with more space than the patio townhomes we had lived in for the past twelve years. The boys had a blast, but Meme and Pop were worn out by the end of the day. The quiver full had depleted our energy.

Solomon said children are gifts from the Lord, and the person who had a quiver full would be happy. I’m sure he would agree that the same applies to grandchildren. And we were happy—happily tired.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

~Proverbs 22:6 NLT

Time with children and grandchildren gives parents and grandparents time to influence. We see our lot regularly, but not every day or even every week. When we do, we ensure we exert a good influence spiritually and otherwise. We laugh, play games, teach them life lessons, draw, and play in the yard. They spent most of the day in the one swing, hanging from our backyard’s lone tree. They kicked the soccer ball and threw the football. I would rather them swing than spend all day looking at a screen—although we did give them time for video games and movies. And hopefully, by day’s end, we made a few more memories.

When the Lord gives us a quiver full of children or grandchildren—or even just one—we should make the most of the journey to help them learn the true meaning of life and follow God’s purpose and plan for their lives.

How can you help your quiver full reach their God-given potential?

Father, help me to spiritually influence my children and grandchildren. Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2024: A Quiver Full: Martin Wiles: All Rights Reserved