10/19/2021
Part 1
“There are no words to describe the happiness in holding your baby’s baby” (author unknown).
We are about to find out.
Laura and I are now the proud GRANDPARENTS of Karuna (“mercy” in Khmer) Elijah Grover, born Sept. 29, 6 lbs. 8 ozs. to especially proud parents, Will and Michaela.
Will and Michaela have been serving as missionaries in Cambodia going on two years now, and they are elated to welcome a precious baby boy to their young family. Michaela gave birth in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as the medical services in Thailand are THE destination place for many needing health care throughout Southeast Asia.
Laura and I fly out Wednesday morning to spend a week with them before a short-term mission’s team arrives from E91 next week. God’s timing is impeccable.
Back in March 2020, I was scheduled to travel with this short-term team to serve with Rapha House International in Thailand. And along came . . . COVID. We tried to reschedule the trip in 2021 to no avail, and so we finally got the trip set for October 2022, long before Will and Michaela got pregnant.
When the pregnancy was announced, they informed us they would be having the baby in . . . where? Thailand. What city? Chiang Mai. When? October 2022—the exact city and the exact time when Laura, I, and the E91 short-term mission’s team were scheduled to arrive.
Yes, indeed, God’s timing is impeccable.
Adrian Fehl, our Executive Pastor, told me this past Sunday, “Sometimes we need to be reminded that God is in the details.” And so He is. When we are confronted with the feeling that God is too big to care for the small aspects of our lives, we need to be reminded that, with God, bigness and smallness are not opposite ends on the spectrum of humanity. In fact, God is big enough to deal with the smallest details of the 8,000,000,000 people on planet earth.
Let’s give thanks that while “[God’s] greatness no one can fathom” (Psalm 145:3), “yet He is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27b). Can I get an “amen”?
I read this week that “Grandfathers are just antique little boys.” I’m looking forward to being a little “antique-ish” over the next two weeks. I invite you to continue this monologue with me as I share “Grandpa Rick’s Reflections” from Thailand. Grateful for your prayers. Grateful for the goodness of God.
Part 2
I’m writing these words from Chiang Mai, Thailand while I’m watching rugby with my son, Will. His son, my grandson (Karuna), is in the other room with his mom and grandmother (“Yaya”). I know these are personal words and not necessarily relevant to most readers, but I want you to consider this: What are the fine moments of life that you cherish and that keep you going?
I know the theologically astute will answer something to the affect of, “My life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Or the spiritually sophisticated will respond with, “To live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Both responses, of course, are correct. But, practically speaking, what does that life in Christ look like in the “real” world?
My dad, Karuna’s great grandad, who went on to heaven almost two years ago, used to tell me that all my seminary and graduate-school education amounted to nothing if not lived out in the actual arena of life. The older I get, the more I realize the wisdom of his words.
What if a life hidden with Christ in God looks like the peaceful contentment of holding a grandchild in your arms? What if true living in Christ reflects the peace of a newborn breathing steadily with not a care in the world? Are the familial joys of life windows into the glory of heaven?
Family in the Kingdom of God represents more than genetics and blood lines. It extends to all who are far off—the fatherless, the orphan, the widow, the childless, and all who don’t measure up to the “family” ideals of the world (Acts 2:39; Deuteronomy 10:18; James 1:27; Psalm 113:9).
And so, perhaps, the joy of being a new grandfather is found in the reflection of Karuna’s face. Innocence. Beauty. Peace. All characteristics found in a baby’s smile that point to the deeper truth of family that extends beyond biology.
I don’t know about you, but this gives me peace in a world where there is much separation, barriers, and disillusionment. Will, Michaela, and Karuna live more than 8,500 miles away. We might get to see our grandson (and his wonderful parents) once a year. But when we do get to see them, we have more than just a family visit. We have a glimpse of heaven, a foreshadowing of what is yet to come.
So, be encouraged. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or none of the above, your identity is in Christ Jesus, and you are part of an eternal family whose blood runs deep, far deeper than what flows through your veins. For those who have experienced the joy of holding a grandbaby for the first time, know that this reveals a greater joy found in our heavenly Father who loves us beyond measure.
Greetings to you from the other side of the world, but far nearer than our GPS may show.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13, NIV).
Part 3
The juxtaposition was uncanny. One day I’m with our team serving young children who have been trafficked, abused, or who are growing up in a squatter’s village on the edge of the city dump, and the next day I’m holding my grandson who’s being raised by two parents who love him in a safe, comfortable environment.
But there are two things the children from Rapha International and my grandson have in common: a smile and hope.
When our E91 Team walked through the slums of Burmese refugees on the Myanmar/Thailand border, we came across some children playing a game comparable to “kick the can.” From a material perspective, they had next to nothing. From a spiritual perspective, they had everything imaginable, as their smiles bore witness.
When we worshiped with about forty young girls who had been rescued out of human trafficking, their house moms, and other staff at a Rapha safe house, we encountered a similar, profound truth. Whatever form of darkness humanity can experience in this life, the light of Jesus Christ shines far brighter.
Tears streamed down my face as I heard these young girls sing at the top of their lungs, “Blessed be Your name, On the road marked with suffering, Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name.” I’ll never sing that song the same way again. And then the girls slowed down the pace of worship and sang, “Light of the world you stepped down into darkness, Opened my eyes, Let me see, Beauty that made this heart adore You, Hope of a life spent with You. And here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that You're my God.”
Juxtaposition.
Lives that, according to the world’s standard, have no hope now filled with hope beyond measure. Children who have every reason to be angry and filled with hate respond in worship with joy and a peace that surpasses all understanding.
And then I held my grandson who has every opportunity this world can offer for material comfort, safety, and security, and I pray his true growth will spring up from the same soil of these Thai children, the soil of what really matters most: the love and hope found in Jesus Christ.
I praise God for my son and daughter-in-law who will raise our grandson with love. And I praise God for the Rapha house moms, counselors, and staff who are raising these young Thai girls with the same love rooted in Jesus Christ.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).
