As I listen to her sing and think upon the words, I realize that even though she alters the words here and there, she still expresses a biblical truth. It is God that changes us from the inside out. He is the one who will change her as she grows to love Him.
Anna is a sweet little girl (as all granddaughters are), but there are things about her that need changed. Neither her parents nor we want her to stay as she is (although being little is oh, so precious!). But we cannot change her. Only God can do that, yet he calls parents and grandparents to be influential toward that change, to demonstrate His grace as He works internally in her heart and mind.
External controls and power plays do not bring internal change. When the externals are no longer viable (children do eventually get bigger than their parents and sometimes smarter), our children do (as we did) whatever it is that they want to do. If all we have are external controls, we will have failed them, and our relationship will fail as well.
Only internal motivations bring life-giving change, and it thrills us as parents and grandparents to see evidence of such change. Anna came into this world with a selfish heart. She has been a me-first, this-is-mine, I-want-it-now little person. But in this visit, we see change in her. All of that selfishness is not gone, but she is internalizing more of what it means to think of the other person a little bit, too. God's grace has been at work through her parents, instruments in the hands of the One who is calling her to an abundant, internal, eternal life.
Jesus says that He came to give life, and to give it abundantly (John 10:10). Our privilege as parents and grandparents is to help the children step into that abundant life that only God's grace provides.
Painting ~ The Tea Party, Eastman Johnson 1824-1906
