Last Updated on June 5, 2018
Recently, there was a picture of me and my sweet granddaughter posted on Facebook. This picture really touched me, and I began to tear up. (I am really getting sentimental in my older age.)
This is not my first grandchild; I have many grandchildren. But this particular picture was not posted by one of my many biological kids. Even though I have several who are old enough to be married, God hasn’t given me grandchildren this way, but yet, I am a grandmother.
This was a picture of my spiritual granddaughter. And though she has godly Christian grandparents and great-grandparents in other cities, I have become a spiritual mom to her parents. Her mother and father have had many meals at our home. They had many talks in our home about life, marriage, difficult things, and godly things. I screamed like a little kid when they called me after their engagement, and I cried with her father over the news of her conception. Sometimes, her parents show up at the door to get a McKelvy fix (this is slang for missing us and coming “home” for a little while).
When I looked at this posted picture, I smiled at the comment attached to the post; her mom had added to this photo, “Juliet with her ‘chocolate grandmother,’ Robyn McKelvy. She wants to be called Chip! [I laughed at myself when I came up with that name.] How cute :). I love how much she adores our daughter.” God has been so good to me because I have multi-ethnic and multi-lingual spiritual children and grandchildren. They are African, African-American, Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, Cambodian, and some mixed of many other ethnicities.
Growing up, I was pretty radical about everything, so when I became a Christian at 21, I became really extreme for Christ. Shortly thereafter, I read that, “… children are a heritage from the LORD, …” (Psalm 127:3), and I wasn’t going to miss any of my gifts from the Lord. I have learned first-hand that you cannot out-give God! I try to turn every conversation into a time to talk about God’s goodness — at the grocery store, on an elevator (yes, I am one of the few who talk on elevators), anywhere. I am a fanatic about Jesus!
It is so refreshing to see Christian couples having children and raising them to love Christ. We need those coming behind us who are true worshippers because our world is seeking everything but what they need: Christ. My desire for Juliet and all my grandchildren, biological or spiritual, would be that I would be one of the many people in their lives who whisper in their ears…
[verse reference=”1 Corinthians 11:1″]Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.[/verse]
And when I am long gone from this world, I pray she will remember her “Chip” because she has become a “chip” off the old block.
Robyn McKelvy has devoted her life to the care and building up of others. In her home, through the church her husband pastors and through years of speaking at Weekend To Remember Get-Away’s around the country as well as countless women’s events. Robyn is the mom of seventeen children, seven in heaven and nine amazing souls here on earth who have received her full attention from the time they were born or grafted into her family. Robyn’s book SOS – Sick of Sex is in stores now as is her devotional book, Say IT Loud: Becoming your husband’s personal cheerleader. Robyn has been a mom for 24 years and married to Ray for over 25 years.
You can adopt me, too, Robyn! 🙂 As a fellow elevator (and grocery store line, soccer game side line, bus stop, etc) conversationalist, I appreciate the reminder to use every opportunity to share God's love!