Category: family

In the summer of 1975 I met a pretty dark skinned girl with long black hair. Her name was Susan and in the summer of 1981 we married. When you are a teenage boy you don’t think too much beyond the weekend, but if I could counsel a kid about marriage, I would encourage him to look far beyond his girlfriend’s beauty and ponder questions that might never cross the mind.

Will she be one you can count on through thick and thin? We just repeat “in sickness and in health” because the preacher says it, but what if tough times really come? Will your lover be faithful? I joined another patient and three multiple myeloma doctors at a conference in downtown Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. I shared, “Be sure to honor your caregiver. My wife has been amazing these eighteen years and I would not be sitting on this stage without her.” That statement received a long applause in the room full of those dealing with the disease.

Will she be a good mother? Noble goals and youthful dreams may be put on hold when kids come into the world. No matter what a person’s philosophy about raising children is, being a mother is no joke. The time, the energy, the sacrifice, and the love required is beyond comprehension. In addition to loving their husbands, mothers extend themselves, give of themselves, and deny themselves for the good of the little ones God has given.

Will she be a good grandmother? My joy now is watching Susan love Wilkes, Macy, and Owen. She will leave in a few days to fly to Denver to help Kinsey bring another granddaughter into the world. We joke that the grandchildren are more fun than the children, but we’re truly loving everyone. When I was a twenty-one year old newlywed, I doubt I would have paid much attention to someone trying to get me to envision what type of grandmother my new bride would be, but decades later it is an important matter.

Thanks for your prayers for Susan as she serves, and for Kinsey, Jordan, and Owen as they anticipate a new member of the family.

“May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Proverbs 5:18

Susan and I spent the holiday weekend with Kinsey and Karlyn at the beach. Two-year-old Owen was there, as was his baby sister who is waiting to be born. Perhaps there is nothing we enjoy more these days than having fellowship with our children.

One evening in July, Taylor came to see me in the hospital. We talked a long time… about family, kids, school, coaching, and memories. I felt great while we visited, but after he left the chills and fevers returned. That sleepless night, God impressed upon me the joy of fellowship He has with His children.

We know there is great benefit in prayer. We make our requests, we intercede for others, and we ask for blessing. But fellowship involves a different dimension of prayer life. If Taylor had simply entered my hospital room, asked for things he wanted me to do for him then exited, I would have felt a little sad. Of course I would have loved my son, but I might have wondered why he didn’t want to hang out a little longer.

That night I also realized how many decisions I make without ever consulting the One who knows all. I was thinking of a particular situation when it seemed the Lord said: “If you had asked Me, I would have said…” This was not a rebuke and there was not an ounce of condemnation, but it made me realize that, though the Creator of the universe constantly invites me to His throne, I rarely take advantage.

It is not uncommon for Taylor, Kinsey, or Karlyn to call for a little advice. “Dad, here’s the dilemma… what would you do?” They want know what I think. When Jesus went by Himself to pray, He must have spent much of His time listening and watching. “I tell you the truth, the Son can only do what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) “Whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say.” (John 12:50)

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ teachings, His good works, and His love flowed from constant fellowship with His Father. “Lord, help us not forget to sit at Your feet and listen and learn. Thank you for offering us fellowship with You.”

“It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me.” (John 6:45)

For a couple of days, Susan and I got to keep Owen and the dog Millie (they come as a package:) as Kinsey and Jordan went to the mountains. When we met at age fifteen, or even later at twenty-one when we married, I never contemplated what type of grandmother Susan would become. She probably didn’t think about me being a ‘grandpa’ either. (Why don’t you ponder these important matters while you’re young?)

Susan, affectionately called Susu by our grandkids, is the best of grandmothers. She loves Wilkes, Owen, and Macy with a huge heart. She enjoys keeping them, reading to them, and buying clothes and gifts for them. She also loves to pray for them.

Writing to Timothy from a personal and spiritual perspective, Paul included comments about Timothy’s mother and grandmother. What would we do without loving mothers and grandmothers?

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
II Timothy 1:3-7

“Mr. Davis, as Taylor grew older, what were some things you looked forward to doing with him?”

This was one of several questions I was asked in a seventh grade Bible class at Taylor’s school this week. A while back, I called our son as he was driving back from a game with a fellow coach. We just had a normal conversation, but overhearing it, the coach decided to invite us to his Bible class to be an illustration of ‘generational wisdom.’

The class has been studying the Proverbs, and while I don’t claim to have a great deal of wisdom, the Scripture is full of it. Solomon often wrote about fathers and sons. “The glory of a young man is his strength; the gray hair of the old is his splendor.” (Proverbs 20:29) As Taylor and I told stories and answered questions, I thanked God for His goodness.

“Coach Davis, as your children grow older, what are some of the things you look forward to?”

Our answers to questions were often similar. Many years ago, I enjoyed coming home from work and playing various games with the kids. I enjoyed taking them fishing and going on trips. Wilkes is now at the age where he loves to play and Taylor loves it. Cars, superheroes, ball, rocks, sticks… everything is fun.

But what is most important for a child? Don’t we as parents want our kids to know our Heavenly Father? However close I feel I am to God, I want my children to be closer. He is our Source of life. He is our fortress. He is our hope.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) As parents, we can pray our children follow this wisdom as we daily put it into practice in our own lives. And God will prove Himself faithful… for He is the perfect Father.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

“He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

We are praising God for bringing baby Macy into the world at 5:45 on May 10! She weighs 7 lbs, 4 oz and is 21 inches long. Everyone is excited!

I think our Father in Heaven is also excited when a little one is born. He is the One who “knit us together” and He knows His intentions for every child. He wants us all to know Him and learn to walk in fellowship with Him while we are on the earth.

May the One who loves us all protect and lead little Macy as she joins Taylor, Emma, Wilkes, and the family of God.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5