Called to be our Grandchildren’s Guides on this Journey

By Derek Maul

Travel days are always a challenge; so it helps to have a couple of wonderful and cooperative grandchildren on hand. It also helps to start the day in an idyllic spot, drive at a leisurely pace, lunch at the small Georgia town that cradled the early days of my father-in-law’s ministry, then finish off by watching the rain pour down while the children played checkers.

After a spectacular Friday evening sunset, our mountain retreat doubled down with a Saturday sunrise just as captivating. We posed for the traditional “goodbye vacation house” photo, and then drove down into Georgia via the Blue Ridge Parkway, following smaller roads that led us through some of my wife Rebekah’s old familiar family haunts.

After subjecting the grandchildren to an educational interlude at Tallulah Gorge State Park, we drove into Clarksville where we found an excellent restaurant and ate on the patio, enjoying the downtown vibe of a classic North Georgia small town.

 First Presbyterian Church of Clarksville is where Rebekah’s dad, Robert D. Alexander, served during the late 40’s and early 50’s. His tenure there anchored a three-fold charge that included congregations in Helen and Nacoochee. From there he moved to Waynesboro, then Atlanta, and finally Florida.

I felt a sense of deep gravitas, standing in front of a church building where the real, vital, transformational truth of the gospel has been a continual witness to the town since 1832, and to know that it played a part in the good story that eventually led Rebekah into ministry too.

These are the stories we share with our grandchildren, then translate into real life. It’s all a journey, a long winding road trip, and we are called to be their guides.

Godspeed, all of you – DEREK

Derek is a North Carolina-based writer, journalist, teacher and speaker. He is the author of numerous books on what the Bible reveals as essential in becoming a man of God.

He is convinced that his four grandchildren are exactly the hope and promise that this world needs. His conviction is important to understand because it reveals a lot about his theology, and how he believes our identity as God’s children plays out in the day-to-day experience of living in a world where darkness, disappointment, and defeat are all too common.

He is a committed encourager, and a pilgrim in progress. He divides his time between writing and traveling to speak about the fully engaged life. His passion is to connect people – men and women – with a more vibrant, authentic experience of what he calls “The Life-Charged Life.”

If you would like to read more, check out his author page at Amazon. Also check out his website and his daily blog.

Reading Between The Lines, With Derek Maul is published every Wednesday on Christian Grandfather Magazine.

CGM Wishes to to Thank Aaron Burden for the the use of our feature photo.