Minister's Musing

Rev. Mark Ward
Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville

November 2007

The call from our oldest daughter came late one evening as my wife and I were getting ready for bed. As I recall, Debbie answered the phone and told me that Anna wanted to talk to us both. So, I got on another line. Anna didn’t wait long to deliver the news: she was pregnant!

I know that for different people that news is met with different feelings, but for us it was entirely cause for celebration. Our daughter and her husband, in their mid-20s, had been married not quite a year, and, while like all people of that age they are juggling a lot – schooling, finances, etc., they are also mature, responsible people – in other words, great candidates for parenthood.

What I think both of us are less sure of is that we are ready for the role of grandparent. Those of you who have been through this know that with such news you ride a roller coaster from elation to wistfulness. This is something that nearly every parent wishes for her or his children, that they will experience the life-changing joys of parenthood that we did and carry forward the thread of life to a new generation. As my wife said, it gives us as parents a sense of completion.

And yet, the prospect of a new generation also brings our sense of mortality into sharper focus. We are in our mid-50s and healthy and hopefully have many years ahead of us, but there is a strong sense here of a torch being passed. And that’s all right because I realize that more than ever I want my life to be in service to the future good, to pass along the gifts I have been blessed to receive. I want to honor the wistfulness I feel and then let it go, hoping to end my days, whenever that may come, in gratitude.