Can extended family impact a child’s faith? My Mamu sure did!

As I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to know my great-grandmother, my mom’s, mom’s mom.

Mamu, as she was called, was a kind, loving woman who I remember as being calming and joyful. Whether it is true or not, my memories of her always bring pictures of a small woman who was always smiling.

I remember sitting with her, listening to her, and I remember one time she let me put tape all over toes in an effort to fix them. (She had a toe that crossed over the other one and I was determined to fix that for her.)

Mamu was the baker of our family and she made the best cream pies. I remember her making tiny pies just for my brother and me and I remember her letting me make my own pie crust and sprinkle it with sugar. She let me lick the spoons after making pie and sample the pie crust before it was baked.

And I knew, both from looking at the table next to her favorite chair, and from hearing about it from my mom, that Mamu read her Bible every single day and prayed every day, too.

I often wonder what Mamu learned in her prayer time and what verses stood out to her in different stages of her life. I wonder if she kept a prayer journal or any type of journal and what she would have recorded in there. I would love the opportunity to visit with her now and ask her so many things.

Mamu lived very far away from me, but I still knew her well. And I continue to love her deeply to this day.

And I credit her prayers as those which led me to Christ. Although I was never told directly, I know she must have prayed for me as a child and prayed for my future as a woman. And I am so thankful for those prayers.

So… can an extended family impact a child’s faith? Absolutely. And that impact can be felt just by observation, love and kindness. It doesn’t even need to be pronounced.

This post is part of a series called The Faith of Our Children. This month, each blogger was asked to share how extended family can impact the faith of our children. Please be sure to visit the other women participating in the series and see what they have to share:

Amy’s Finer Things – The Role of Godparents

• Beauty and Bedlam – Extended Family
• OwlHaven – Amazing Grace: From Generation to Generation?
• Kitchen Stewardship – The Vital Importance of Godparents
• Parenting Miracles – A Family Resemblance Beyond Blue Eyes
• The Happy Housewife – How Does Extended Family Affect the Faith of Our Children?
• Smockity Frocks – How Extended Family Nurtures the Faith of Our Children