Quinceañera and Nana

Next week my granddaughter will have the experience of a lifetime. Her parents are showering her with a major birthday celebration called a Quinceañera that she might have experience some of her Spanish heritage. Being a former Yankee but now transplanted Texan, I have attempted to know more about this event and why it is so very important. I found that it is her transition from childhood to womanhood. This celebration’s history began long ago to mark the coming-of-age rituals to mark a girl's independence as a woman. One of the traditions is to have her shoes changed from flats to heels, dance the first dance with her father and to be given a Bible showing the world that this is not just a birthday but rather a birthday with a spiritual emphasis.

Recently I had a week with my precious family and had time with my granddaughter. One of the wonderful gifts she gave me was her willingness to obey, her willingness to please her grandfather. He had noted her bedroom needed a tad bit of cleaning and encouraged her to do so. She did in fact please him with her obedience to that task and that made her Grandpa proud and pleased.

But, back to the event at hand. So how do we fit into all of this? My husband, Christina's grandfather, has an important role in that he is the one that will present her with the spiritual side with a gift of a Bible, a prayer and a word of spiritual wisdom.

For me, I have been gathering my prayer cards together and have collated the verses I have been choosing at the beginning of each school year since Christina began first grade. My focus was to pray for her to develop her character according to biblical standards. I am “pleased as punch” to say that many of my prayers for her have already been answered. But, that does not mean I am at the stopping point. She is just 15 and there are many more years ahead.

Here is one of my prayer examples from Prov 30:24-28

There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
(the character trait that year was on wisdom)
Ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer;
(character trait of diligence to work in anticipation of future needs, thus to not wait to accomplish chores, school work)
Rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags;
(character trait of discernment- a crag is a steep, rugged rock, projecting out of a huge rock, thus one must choose wisely in just the right place of safety)
Locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks;
(here the character trait of teamwork – and symbolizing strength as one follows Christ in all duties)
The Spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces
( in the NET this word is lizard yet the spider was the one chosen as I was also curiously studying and reading the book of Esther. The spider gives us a picture of an insect who is skillful and crafts her web with beauty and intricate details. Thus the character trait is one of skill and beauty.)

As I prepare for this marvelous and exciting event in my granddaughter’s life, I pray that I might take to heart that I am but one of her spiritual advisors and may God give me grace to pray wisely for her. I will be presenting these verses to her in a journal just for her.

Perhaps you might take this challenge for your grandchildren.