My brother and I have fond childhood memories of overnight visits with our grandparents. We loved to explore their small attic filled with treasures they’d brought from overseas. My brother would attempt to play an accordion, while I rummaged through tins of buttons and marbles.

Grandma grew a large garden with many berry bushes we delighted in. Her kitchen table was often covered with dough rolled paper thin that she would cut into strips of noodles or shaped into the most delicious strudels.

Our favorite time of day when we stayed was after dinner. The four of us would sit out on the porch and guess what color the next car coming over the hill would be. Then we would retire to the living room where Grandma and Grandpa watched television and my brother played. 

During that time, I would sit on a little stool at Grandma’s feet and watch her hands. I was mesmerized watching her fingers deftly use a crochet hook to transform thin thread into beautiful doilies and edgings. What amazed me the most was that she wasn’t even looking at her hands, as her eyes were mostly on the TV.

Another memory from our overnight stays were the times we got up early before our grandparents were up. We would go into their bedroom and sit quietly while Grandma read to Grandpa from a small black book. I don’t know whether it was a Bible or maybe a book of prayers because she read in German. But we knew it was a reverent time to be still and wait.

These are the kinds of things that stay with children as they watch the adults around them live out their daily lives. I never had the privilege of Grandma teaching me how to crochet since she passed away when I was twelve. But my mother-in-law was a knitter and crocheter, and she taught me to crochet. Many years later I would teach my own granddaughter how to crochet, and she has become quite an expert.

Also much later, after some very hard years, my husband and I turned to the Lord for the help we needed in our lives. We also established a daily routine of reading our Bibles and praying, which our children and grandchildren have observed through the years and have replicated in their lives.

We may not pay that much attention to our daily routines and activities, but someone else is. Our children and grandchildren are watching our lives, learning from our words and actions. And they will do likewise. Even if we don’t have little ones watching, our influence will reach others we come across in our days.

Some of the things my brother and I experienced at our grandparents’ home became traditions to us. As we are now into the holiday season when many family traditions are observed, let’s examine our traditions to see what we are passing on to the children who will be a part of these celebrations.

Are they experiencing wonderful, loving times as family members gather, or are our festivities filled more with tension, quarreling, and strife? Are we teaching our children that this is a time of celebrating and acknowledging the birth of our savior, Jesus, or does Santa get all the glory? Let’s remember those who are watching this year, and pass on to them a legacy of love.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.