A Grandpa’s Christmas Prayer for his Granddaughter

Dear Clover (age 7) and Mattie (age 2),

From the moment you were born (even before then) I have prayed God’s deepest blessing on your life.

As you grow into a woman, I pray the following for you:

• That you will always know, no matter what, that God loves you and will always walk through life with you
• That you will always know, no matter what, that you are God’s beloved daughter and that he will never give up on you
• That you will always lean into the God who leans into you
• That you will hear the invitation of Jesus, first given to you in your baptism, to follow him into wise, compassionate womanhood
• That you will always know the grace of this truth: You can’t do everything…but you have been created to do some things very well
• That you will constantly be attuned to the one voice…the voice of Jesus…and follow that voice, rather than the many, many voices that will pull you in too many directions
• That you will use and develop the amazing gift of your brain by studying hard and learning all you can, using your growing knowledge wisely
• That you will learn the importance of good work, fun play, and deep rest
• That you will commit yourself to taking care of yourself physically
• That you will choose your friends wisely–choosing friends who bring out the best in you as you bring out the best in them
• That you would learn to respect yourself and treat others with respect as well
• That, should you marry, you will marry a man who shares your faith and heart; that you will have a marriage of mutual vision and respect, and that your marriage will be as fulfilling as mine is to grandma
• That God will even now begin to prepare the heart of your future husband for a lifetime partnership with you (and he may or may not yet be alive!)
• That you will stay connected to a caring faith community, serve and support the pastor and staff, and do your part in carrying out its mission (unless of course God calls you to be a pastor—then may you enjoy pastoral ministry as much as I have!)
• That you will grow to be a woman of lavish generosity
• That I will live up to my call as your grandpa: To be a good man in your life!

I love you with all my heart!

Merry Christmas!

Grandpa