Introduction

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

I have in my possession at least two watches that belonged to some of my grandfathers. I have found that it is quite common that a young man will receive his grandfather’s watch as something to remember his grandfather by. More often than not, that watch will become one of the young man’s most prized possessions. This is certainly the case with me and the watches that I have been given, which belonged to my grandfathers. The watches themselves keep time very poorly and I never wear them, but yet I cherish them. They mean the world to me because they remind me of my grandfathers and all that these wonderful men meant to me.

Yet, it bears asking – was a watch all that I inherited from them? Obviously not. Grandfathers, it seems, pass on much more to their grandchildren than simple trinkets. They pass on years of wisdom. They pass on visions of the past, and future. They pass on values and principles. They pass on the guidelines that we, in turn, will pass on to our children and grandchildren. They also pass on habits, good ones and bad. Obviously, this does not just apply to grandfathers, but grandmothers too.

Please, take a moment and remember the times spent with grandparents. Usually they are far enough removed from you that their guidance does not seem like meddling or micro-managing your life. Yet they are close enough that even the most intimate conversations and guidance are not out of bounds.

Over the years my grandparents spent a tremendous amount of time molding and shaping me, directly and indirectly. No matter where I was or what I was doing, as a group, they took great interest in me and my sister and our brother personally. Asking any of my cousins you will find the same from them. Each grandparent was quite different, with different interests and focus on life. Where one would monitor my life spiritually another would monitor it educationally. Thinking back now, it is almost overwhelming to consider the way that God wrapped love around me so completely with my grand-parents.

After high school I enlisted in the Navy for six years. Sometimes I spent a year or more without seeing some of my grandparents. Often I was terrible about writing to them or keeping in contact with them. However, never did their love or care for me waiver. One grandmother in particular would send me, on a regular basis, a box of cookies to share. Inevitably in that box of cookies was a scripture passage or meditation that she had placed in with the cookies that connected with me in exactly the way that I needed at that point in my life.

One thing that you do in the Navy is stand a lot of watches. Whenever you are on watch you are in part responsible for the safety and security of your ship and shipmates during your watch. For people like the captain of a ship, his or her entire tenure in the Navy is their watch, and a good captain takes it very seriously. Often you will hear a person like that comment on a particular subject like drugs in the Navy as, “Not on my watch.” Here they are implying that their watch never ends, and this atrocity will not occur while they are in the Navy.

Grandparents approach their grandchildren in much the same way. From the time you are born your grandparents are “on watch” for you, for them, and for their family. They guard you against danger and impart to you their wisdom and guidance. You can rest assured that my grandparents were “on watch” for me, and I thank God for the blessing this has been for me.

Sure my grandfather’s watch was made of gold and jewels, but it was also heart and soul. The grandparents that had a part in raising me all took this responsibility very seriously and without them I would not be the person I am today. As each grandparent would take their turn “on watch” they would share that moment with me completely. They took this time to show me how to paint, how to bail hay, how to replace a spark plug, how QSL cards work, and most of all, how Jesus loves me. They would share the Gospel with me directly, but they also shared it with me in the way they lived and in what they valued.

The stories that I share here are just a small taste of how my grandparents shaped and influenced my life. Early in my life, they cared for me. They fed me, cleaned me up, changed my diaper, and told me stories. As I got older, I was able to take care of myself, and in most cases, they were still able to care for themselves. We began to have adventures together. The times we were able to be together were magical. As they each approached their twilight years, our roles began to reverse. I, along with the rest of my family, became the caretakers, and they became the mischievous children. However, none of them lost their focus on the goal of being with Jesus. Even when their eyes became cloudy, and so did their minds, they perked up for a good Gospel song or a verse of scripture. They showed me how to live and they showed me how to die.

They each stood the watch themselves over me for many years. I, in turn, stood the watch over them. This was not an obligation or a chore; this was a privilege. Each of my grandparents have now joined the church triumphant, and I still stand the watch in their honor as I look forward to continuing the watch with my daughter and eventual grandchildren.