Go Beyond

For years I have heard (from a variety of sources but mostly from grandparents) that becoming a grandparent is one of the most amazing experiences in life. Some have even boasted that the experience is so good they wish they had had grandkids first — a pretty strong endorsement for grandparenthood.

On the morning of Valentine’s Day of this year, I officially joined the grandparent brigade when Mila Noelle entered the world. I loved Mila long before she arrived — but when I finally saw and then held her in my arms for the first time, I felt something I could not put into words. It was a new and deeper dimension of love.

And then it happened. I had hardly clocked one whole minute as a new grandfather when I realized that being a grandfather is indeed far better than advertised. Totally true!

Well, things are about to get even better. A few weeks ago, my youngest daughter Gina and her husband Casey announced that Gina is pregnant. Cheryl and I could not have been more excited. Although they immediately shared the news with us, they waited three-months before making their news public.

They waited because Gina’s first pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage. That news was hard on all of us because we had already fallen in love with the precious baby that Gina was carrying. And although we never had the opportunity to meet that child, we believe that one day we will. We now have one more compelling reason we long for heaven.

Today is my oldest daughter Niki’s birthday. Gina and Casey chose this already special day to call our family together to reveal the gender of their child. Gina made the reveal lots of fun. We are thrilled to learn that our next grand baby will be a girl — due to arrive on August 18.

Two grandkids in one year! Never in our wildest dreams could Cheryl and I have envisioned such a blessing. Our joy could not be any higher. We are counting the days until we hold our newest granddaughter in our arms. I can’t help but think that, once again, God is going to take our love deeper still.

I am fortunate to have grown up with four grandparents who loved me. No complaints about my childhood, due in large part to my amazing grandparents. I treasured every moment with them when I was a kid. As an adult, I treasure every memory we made together.

Cheryl and I want to do the same thing for our grandkids. We don’t know how much time we have remaining to enjoy them but we are determined to make the most of the time we have. We want for them to look back and treasure the time we were privileged to spend together. We want to love and bless them. And we want for others to know that being a grandparent is amazing — far better than advertised.