Becoming Mimi

There is a particular kind of wonder in watching a baby discover the world. Everything is new to him: a face, a sound, a smile, his own hands, a new expression, another little piece of his personality revealing itself.

Over the past few months, I have experienced this incredible gift firsthand. Becoming Mimi to a precious new baby boy has brought me a joy I could never have fully imagined.

One of the things I find most beautiful about becoming a grandmother is realizing that this little life is now part of a story that began long before him. Scripture gives us a beautiful picture of the responsibility to remember what God has done and to tell the next generation.

When God brought the Israelites through the Jordan River on dry ground, He instructed Joshua to take twelve stones from the river and set them up as a memorial. He told them that when their children asked what the stones meant, they were to tell them what God had done.

“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’”
Joshua 4:21–22

The stones were there so that as generations came and went, they would remember the faithfulness and power of God, renew their awe of Him, and remember that He is worthy of their trust. They were also there to make sure the story was told again.

I love that picture as I think about becoming Mimi. This little boy is only beginning to discover the world. There is so much he has yet to learn, so many things he will one day discover about himself, about the world around him, and most importantly, about the God who loves him.

What a privilege it is to be part of his story and to be a person in his life who remembers, tells of God’s faithfulness, and points him toward the truth of the Gospel. And while the joy of getting to know him over the last few months has been more than I could have imagined, there have been other unexpected gifts woven into this season.

One of them is the new thing I now share with my daughter: Motherhood.

There is a different kind of knowing that comes with becoming a mother. It can be overwhelming and life-giving all at once, hard and terrifying, yet full of joy and sweetness. Suddenly, there is a person you would do anything for and sacrifice anything to protect.

It is a small glimpse into the perfect love of God, the love that sent His Son into the world for us.

As I see my daughter discovering the joys and responsibilities of motherhood, I find myself remembering all the ways God has carried us through the years. What an unexpected gift this has given us: to remember and reflect together, to talk about God’s faithfulness in new ways, to share those “stones” from my own journey as a mom, and to marvel at the hand of God in our lives through hard things and wonderful things.

Like the Israelites who were called to share the story of what God had done with future generations, my daughter and I can look back over our own journey and remember the places where God met us, carried us, answered prayers, and remained faithful through circumstances we could not have understood at the time. What a blessing it has been to reflect on those “stones” together now through the context of motherhood, remembering what God has done and trusting that the God who has been faithful before will continue to be faithful. And now, we see His faithfulness unfolding in another generation.

I look at my daughter and remember the little girl she once was. Now I see her holding her son, beginning a new chapter in the story God is writing through our family.

There is so much I do not know about the years ahead. I do not know who this precious little boy will become or what God has prepared for him.

But I know the God who does, and I know that it is good.

As I reflect on what a gift it is to watch my grandson begin to discover the world God created and my daughter experience the joys of motherhood, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. My prayer is that he will come to know the God who knew him before we ever did and who loves him infinitely more than we ever could. And I pray that along the way, we will have many opportunities to stop and remember, to tell him the stories of God’s faithfulness, and to point to the stones along our journey as reminders of His goodness.