The Simplest of Beliefs...

My grandson Andrew is nearly 10 months old, and a more beautiful, happy-go-lucky baby you will never see. Ever since he grew out of his colic (about 6-7 months ago) he has become so sweet & playful ~ always a joy to have around, learning new things every day, funny to a fault.
Here, he is pictured about 1.5 months ago, @ Andrea's house, right after cake & ice cream.
It's been so much fun being a grandparent, watching everything he does (or tries to do) and loving him to pieces...without the work of a parent, which I have had now for nearly 30 years.
He had the flu the other day, poor thing, but is now back to himself...so at least that's over! He was supposed to come over for the day, but wouldn't you know it, just when we get a chance to babysit, he gets sick! Of course, Paul had the same bug, so it must have been going through their house; Kristy had it just two days earlier.
But it did get me thinking: what about the other things in life, aside from the occasional flu bug or head cold, the things that loom and threaten in a more powerful way?!?
Remember when you were a small child & the whole world was a good place? ...where nobody was "the bad guy", ...where every day was a new adventure, a chance to play, discover, learn? ...where everybody was a friend to be made?
Remember when the worst things to worry about were getting home after dark, but there were no child molesters out there, no rapists or muggers? I can recall my Mom telling me that she felt entirely safe letting us play half a mile down the street, as long as "we stayed together"...but just "be home before the street lights go on!" The purity of the neighborhoods back then will probably never come back. The way one could trust a neighbor to look out for each other's property or children playing out on the front lawn, even ~ the simplest of times for the simplest of folks.
Of course, I worry about Andrew in the day-to-day goings-on of his life, but even more so do I worry about the grand scheme of things in his future. I worry about his education, his safety, his happiness ~ and any future goals he might have. Will he go to college? Will he find a "nice girl"? Will he stay true to the Church? Will he live to a ripe old age, enjoying his own children and grandchildren?
The simplest of beliefs "back in the day" was for parents, and then their children, all about getting a good job and "getting ahead"...but now, there is so much more, even than that!
Even tho' Andrew is my grandson, not my son, I still think about all these things. I hope and pray that he becomes exactly what God intends for him to become, keeping His will first in his life...and staying close to Him always.
Even besides all that, I hope for him also, on a more down-to-earth level, that he will do all the things that he sets for himself to do. Get a good job, find a nice girl, raise a family, enjoy his grandchildren someday, after I am gone...
The simplest of beliefs, to my way of thinking, still hold true even today. Altho' the world has changed in some ways, we still want the same things for our families that our parents wanted for us back then...happiness, health, love of God and others, a good life.
For Andrew, I wish nothing less...xo...