Years ago Joni and I were part of a small church group that met regularly and during one session we asked everyone this question.

What person had the biggest impact on you spiritually growing up?

Three-quarters of our group shared the same answer.

A grandparent.

I was one of those who gave that response. My life was impacted then and to this day by my dear Granny Davis. She had taken on the name Davis from her second husband Raymond.

Talitha Alice Burchett remarried a few years after enduring the unthinkable tragedy of losing her first husband to typhoid fever when my dad was only six-months-old. A widow with a newborn living in dirt poor Appalachia would have reason to be bitter. But not this remarkable woman.

So many words come to mind as I remember Granny Davis. The first word is always gratitude. Anytime I visited she was grateful for one minute of my time or for many hours. She was grateful for everything and everyone.

Another word is joy. Granny Davis had a ready and sometimes mischievous smile that cheered me constantly through the trials of growing up. She was my champion and she never once showed disappointment in me.

She had almost no formal education yet she was one of the wisest women I have ever known.  Perhaps that is because she spent so much time absorbing God’s Word through consistent reading of the Bible. I remember her lamenting that she wished she was smarter so she could understand the words better. But few people I have met have allowed God’s Word to penetrate their heart and actions more than my Granny Davis. I bought her a copy of The Living Bible and she read through it with notes and marks from Genesis to Revelation. On August 26, 1977 she wrote this at the end of the book of Revelation.

“Just finished reading this through. Thank you David. It’s meant a lot to me.”

She was my first messenger of grace, although I did not realize that until later in life. She modeled unconditional love through some very difficult seasons with my parent’s marriage. No matter how I responded during that time I never once felt guilty or unloved in her presence. That was grace in real life.

To this day, I think of her grace filled responses whenever I feel ungrateful for some real or perceived slight. When I got my driver’s license, my visits to Granny Davis’s house became more and more unannounced. I would run there when I was sad or afraid. She was my refuge. In her presence, I experienced unconditional love, more than in any other place in my early life.

Granny Davis earned extra money by taking on sewing projects. Joni and I often tell the story of how desperately poor we were when we were newlyweds and our firstborn son Matt came along. There were many times when we scavenged for coins to scrape together money for milk. Whenever we were most in need, a letter would arrive postmarked “Chillicothe, Ohio.” In her distinctive scribble, Granny Davis would write a note of encouragement to us, accompanied by money from her sewing projects. Whether it was five dollars or twenty, it always seemed to be just what we needed to get by for that moment.

That was no accident. This was a woman who was dialed into the Holy Spirit, and she demonstrated that God knows our needs and He moves before we have any idea. It gave Joni and me a very early and unforgettable example of how God provides. We have never forgotten that lesson. When we face uncertainty, we know that He provides, in part because of a five-foot-two dynamo of faith who showed us what faith and grace look like in our daily journey.

Isn’t it interesting how a simple person of faith, kindness, joy, and grace can have such an influence? She knows I loved her but she had no idea how much her walk with Jesus affected me. Part of that is because I didn’t recognize it myself until later in life and I can’t wait to tell her in heaven some day.

Proverbs 17:6 says that “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged”.

Amen.

What a wonderful gift from God to have the opportunity to love, care, and share your life with these precious little ones. We can have a unique connection and voice to our grandkids. I share the hope of John who wrote these words.

I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children (and grandchildren) are following the truth. (3 John 3:4, NLT)

I hope I am having an impact in my beloved grandkids lives. I won’t know the whole story on this earth but I will do my best to show them the love and grace of Jesus.

Billy Graham summed up my goal perfectly.

“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”