A Gift of Grace
Jul 10, 2022 | by The Fellowship
In the summer of 2018, our oldest daughter and two of our three granddaughters from North Carolina were in town visiting. Our oldest granddaughter was taking summer classes at the University of TN in Knoxville. A few days into the visit, our oldest granddaughter informed her mom that she was not feeling well. After a few more days of not getting any better and some candid conversations, our daughter suggested she take a pregnancy test. You can only imagine how our granddaughter reacted when the test showed positive! We immediately got her on a plane to come be with all of us here as she was in complete shock and despair.
Right away we started to pray for God to help us discern what to do next and what would be best for her. There was no family in Knoxville, all of her immediate family was in rural North Carolina, and all the grandparents were here in Katy. My husband and I trusted God and He put it on both our hearts to offer for her to live with us. She could transfer to a university here to finish her college education, work part-time, and we could help take care of our great grandbaby.
In December of that year, our granddaughter moved in, found a job and started to take college classes. Then on March 7, 2019, our precious great-granddaughter was born. God orchestrated it so everyone in the family could be there when our granddaughter gave birth! What a precious time it was to have her mom and dad and both sets of grandparents cheering her on! Then on Mother’s Day, she dedicated her daughter to the Lord at The Fellowship.
Our next biggest prayer was that the baby's daddy would want to be a part of her life once he got to meet her. God answered when he met her for the first time in August and decided to be active in her life. Over the next five months, he came from Tennessee to visit several times. Then, because of Covid, he was actually able to stay here for five months since his university classes were all online. What a precious time of bonding that was for all three of them! God is so good!
In August 2020, he returned to The University of TN to finish his last semester. That was a tough period for them as they tried to decide next steps for their lives. BUT God had plans! Dad graduated in December and came back to Texas. He got a job at Amazon while trying to decide whether to pursue his lifelong dream of being a military officer.
Our granddaughter continued working and going to school, graduating from The University of Houston’s Victoria Katy Campus in December 2021, with a degree in marketing. Praise be to God that it only took a few extra semesters even with transferring of schools, changing her major and having a baby. Dad decided that after a year and no progress with the officer training program, he would just enlist in the Marines. His report date for boot camp was January 24, 2022.
On Christmas Eve 2021, Dad proposed to our granddaughter and they set the wedding date for April 30, 2022. This was the only Saturday in the ten days of leave after basic training and before his month of infantry training. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled with the engagement and impending nuptials.
The day before he was leaving for boot camp, God prompted me to witness to him. I said, “Basic training is going to be one of the hardest things you have ever done. You will not know anyone and there may be days of feeling that you just cannot go on. But one thing I know is that Jesus will always be there! He will listen to your prayers and get you through the toughest times.” We both cried and he told me how much that meant to him.
After he shipped out, it was full speed ahead with wedding plans. Our granddaughter decided to start substitute teaching to see if she would like the profession. Teaching is a job you can get anywhere and being a Marine wife means a lot of moving around.
God was definitely in all of the details and dates! Graduation from boot camp was on April 22nd, and the wedding was on April 30th. Everything was coming together just as God intended.
About six weeks ago, our grandson-in-law got his first orders for Pensacola and has been there since Memorial Day weekend. They have worked diligently to get all of the paperwork, which includes a housing allowance, into the Marine system. Everyone will be helping them move into a two-bedroom apartment in a few weeks.
God never ceases to amaze us! He knew four years ago when He formed our great-granddaughter in her mother’s womb the plans that He had for her … for them! This family of three, rooted in their faith in Jesus, will forever be in our hearts. We will certainly miss the daily interaction, but God has good plans for them!
Many, O Lord, are the wonders you have done…
Psalm 40:5