A Global Advent: 25 Stories of God With Us Around the WorldExemplo

Grandparents. They’re people of unseen sacrifices, valuable gems of wisdom, and deep love.

So often, they are some of the first people to show us the love of Christ and bring us into His presence.

We see throughout Scripture that God with us most often happens in the unexpected places, amongst the marginalized or forgotten. Far too often, the marginalized in our society are our elders.

Photo Caption: Lola Anabelle with her grandson, CJ, in the doorway of their home in the Philippines.

And yet, our elders are the people who raised us, paved pathways for us, and gave us unshakable foundations of faith.

In her book Abuelita Faith, author Kat Armas writes, “Abuelitas are the functional priestesses and theologians in our familias. The theologies we have inherited from these overlooked women have given us a firm foundation to live out our faith and demonstrate love in the world.”

Lola Anabelle in the Philippines is one of these women. She is an active and pivotal part of ensuring that her grandson, CJ, has every opportunity to take hold of a future free from poverty.

“A friend told me that the church was looking for children who live in poverty to help send them to school. And so, I went there right away,” she says.

Once CJ was registered in the Compassion program at the local church, Lola Anabelle became the one to faithfully take him to the Compassion program each week.

But in June 2022, CJ’s mother, Cynthia returned home from work to an alarming sight: Lola Anabelle was slumped on the bathroom floor, having suffered a mild stroke. She was taken to the hospital and ordered to rest. Her biggest concern was who would now take CJ to the Compassion centre.

Having seen her mother’s dedication, Cynthia knew what she had to do. “I will make sure to take CJ to the centre and attend all necessary caregivers’ meetings. Like my mom, I understand the importance of Compassion’s program.”

So many of us have a Lola Anabelle in our lives, whether an actual familial grandparent or a spiritual grandparent—the elders who made sacrifices to plant seeds of faith in our lives.

Do you have a grandparent or elder in your life who has embodied Christ’s presence to you? What’s something you can do to serve or encourage them today?