“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” –Proverbs 22:6
As a child, I went to Hebrew school every Sunday from the time I was five until I was sixteen years old. I remember on Sunday mornings my father would take us to get bagels, and we would go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house for breakfast. We would always eat with them, and then my Grandpa would take us to Sunday School which was Cheder in Hebrew.
My Grandpa loved the Bible, he went to many Bible studies, and although he was a very religious, Jewish man who was born in Russia, he even took a class to learn about the New Testament. He would talk about the Bible to me and my sisters, and he would tell us all the stories including Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark and many more. My sisters and I would listen intently, because he had a way of keeping our interest as well as helping us to understand what we were learning. The story I remember him telling the most was about Queen Esther, and he would always be in the front row as we performed in the play at Purim.
After Sunday School, my Grandpa would pick us up and we would go back to their house for lunch. My parents would join us for lunch, and there would always be lots of my Grandma’s friends at her house. Sometimes they would stay all afternoon, and we would all go out to her beautiful garden and sit in the sun. I remember listening to their conversations, and all the exciting things that they did, and all the wonderful trips they would take together.
As the day would wind down, I remember my Grandma would tell my sisters and me wonderful stories about when my Daddy was a little boy, and how during the war they were evacuated from Newcastle where they lived in England to Hexam out in the country. She would tell us about how all her friends were also there and how they would have to take cover in the bomb shelters at different times of the day when the sirens would go off. She would also tell of the food rations, and the things she learned to cook with what they had.
As I sit and write this devotional and think back to the time when my grandparents were alive; it brings back so many happy times and stories from my own childhood. They are the stories I never want to forget, and I want to be able to share them with my children one day.
My Father died last year, and so did so many of the stories of my childhood; it is sad as we see lives end, but it is also happy to see new memories, and new stories begin. I will always have the stories of the things I did with my father to share with my children. I really hope they enjoy them as much as I did.
Gabrielle Moon, Executive Director of St. Luke’s Children’s Centers
