Grand People

When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother . . .

2 Timothy 1:5

Do you enjoy Fanny Crosby’s great hymns, like “Blessed Assurance,” “To God Be the Glory,” “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” and “He Hideth My Soul”? They would not have been written but for a grandmother’s love.

Fanny was blinded at six weeks of age by a spurious doctor, but her grandmother Eunice was determined that Fanny would never grow up feeling disabled or disadvantaged. Eunice spent years training Fanny in all sorts of things—teaching her the Bible, helping her explore nature, and enabling her to develop remarkable powers of memory. With her grandmother’s encouragement, Fanny memorized large portions of the Bible. From that vast storehouse of memorized scripture, she later produced her hymns. “My grandmother was more to me than I can ever express by word or pen,” Fanny wrote long afterward.

Don’t underestimate the influence you can have as a grandparent. As you pour yourself into your grandchild, you will be molding a mighty servant of the Lord. Grandparents have the joyous responsibility of showing God’s strength and power to the generations that follow.