The Open Door

God gave our family an early Christmas gift. Grace Katherine Millage was born to our daughter Jennifer, and her husband Aaron, in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday afternoon, November 29, at 3:37. She weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measured nineteen inches long. Janice and I had the inexpressible joy of being in the birthing room when Gracie was born.

When she was first delivered she appeared lifeless, but in just a moment I saw her lower lip begin to quiver and I knew she was getting ready to cry. Cry she did! She lit up the room with a cry that could be heard up and down the hallway. As she cried, the tone of her skin changed from the blue of a newborn to the bright red of a baby announcing her arrival. I couldn’t keep the tears from filling my eyes. In that moment I was overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for this precious miracle of new life that He was giving our family.

I could not help wondering how anyone could witness the birth of a child and not know Who is in charge. From the moment of conception this precious child was destined to enter a wonderful Christian family with a mother and father who love Jesus and are committed to His church. Like her sister and brother and her cousins, she would have grandparents who would pray for and look forward to the day she would trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

I am sharing a couple of photos with you. I’m sure you aren’t surprised by that at all. I can tell you that Janice is the finest “Grammy” in the entire world. It only took a few minutes for her to get Gracie to the rocking chair and our new granddaughter took to her Grammy right away. In fact, all of our grandchildren are extremely fond of their Grammy.

I’m not at all sure that they understand that Janice and I are married, or just how I fit into the picture. What makes me say such a thing? The children say, “We are going to Grammy’s house.” “Can we ride in Grammy’s car?” “When we get to Grammy’s house can we watch Grammy’s TV and play out in Grammy’s yard?”

One day I said to Meaghan, one of our grandchildren, “This is Granddaddy’s house too,” she responded, as I recall, “No, this is Grammy’s house.” I turned to Ryan and Ben and said, “This is Granddaddy’s house just like it’s Grammy’s house.” They said, “No, Granddaddy, this is Grammy’s house.” At that point I knew that I was in Grammy’s house and I might as well get used to it. There was nothing I could say or do to change that as far as the children were concerned.

You know, I really do live in Grammy’s house and the smart guys are the ones who figure that out and accept it. If it wasn’t for Grammy, all I would have is a house. Janice is the one who makes our house a home and the entire family feels it. I love that fact.

Christmas is that wonderful time of year when we give special thanks to God for the unspeakable gift of His Son, Jesus. Jesus has been the most important part of our home and our family from the very beginning. Each new addition has come into our family as a special gift from the Lord and each of us loves the Lord with all our hearts. The children learn of Him in Sunday School, preschool, worship, and the home. They sing songs about the Lord throughout the year. At Christmas they are taught that while Santa Claus, Christmas decorations, and the giving of gifts are fun parts of the Christmas season, the reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

From our home to your home during this Christmas season we wish for you and yours the very wonderful blessings of God’s matchless love and grace. In our home this Christmas with the birth of our seventh grandchild we are reminded that it was through the most miraculous birth of all time that God announced His love for the world and His divine plan of salvation. May the joy of knowing Jesus Christ fill each of you with peace and good will during Christmas and throughout the year to come.