Last Updated on March 23, 2018
This week I missed my mother.
My “babies,” our twenty-nine-year-old twin daughters, Susy and Libby, were home with their first babies, one four months and one fourteen months. Watching my girls nurse their babies, coo sweetly at them, and respond knowingly to each distinct cry, I visualized myself doing the same thing not too long ago even though it was forever ago! And I wished my mother was here to see my girls with their babies. My Mom was killed instantly in an automobile accident five years ago, and even though I take comfort in the fact that she never suffered and that she’s with the Lord whom she adored, I know she would have loved being here in the center, watching her great-grands and observing the awe on the faces of their mothers. How I wish she was here to share these precious moments with me.
I believe there’s an unusual interconnectedness between generations of women. The older I get, the more I think of my mother and grandmothers. Looking back I wonder what they thought about their lives. I wish I knew more of the things they experienced. I wish they were here so that I could ask them questions that I didn’t think of when they were alive. I long to be able to thank them for things they did that I didn’t appreciate at the time! And then my thoughts turn to generations in the other directions — my children and their kids and one day my great-grandchildren — the fears, dreams and prayers I have for them.
As I read the Bible I’m reminded over and over again that our God is the God of generations. He is always talking about generations of families. He cares about our generations. And He is the redeemer and restorer. No matter what our background, with His help we can be the first of a generation of healthy families. God loves families.
One of the things I pray for my generations to come is from Isaiah 59:21:
“As for me, this is my covenant with them says the Lord. My Spirit who is on you and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever, says the Lord.”
Susan Yates has written thirteen books and has spoken nationally and internationally on the subject of marriage, parenting and women’s issues for many years. For 11 years she was a regular columnist on parenting for Today’s Christian Woman magazine. Susan is the mother of five and has 21 grandchildren, including a set of quads. She is devoted to sharing her wisdom and experience with moms and wives and is selflessly available to those in need. Susan has been a mom for 40 years, she and John have been married for 43 years.