From a Gramm’s Heart

Written for Jack Jack’s baptism

May 17^th 2025, Berkeley Springs, WV

Dear Jack Jack,

Months ago, your mother asked me to do something very special for you. She wanted me to knit a special shawl so that we could wrap it around you at your baptism and so that you would have it always to remind you of this day and of the love that surrounds you—not only the love of your family, but especially the love of Jesus Christ. As I envision this shawl wrapped around you, I hope it will also remind you of the love that Christ has for the whole world, for all the children of this world. Many of them have families like yours that love you dearly, more than you can ever imagine. You have delighted us since before you were born, when we first knew that you were coming to us, and you have delighted us every day since. You are secure with your family, secure in love and hope and dreams. 

And yet there are many, many children in this world who do not know that security, who cannot feel the love and hope and dreams because their lives are far more difficult and uncertain than anything any of your family can imagine. I pray that as you grow and as you learn more about Christ, you will remember the children who are not able to feel the security you do at this moment. And I pray that Christ will lead you and you will follow Christ in such a way that you will never forget that we can and must do everything in our power to help others feel loved and cherished as you are now and that we must do everything we can to help other children live lives that are just and full of peace and hope. Even in your young age at this moment, you are already helping us to remember what it means to follow Christ.

As I have thought about knitting this shawl for you, I have pondered what kind of yarn to use and what colors to use. I love the feel of wool as I knit. And I love the colors of God’s world that are all around us, the colors that pop out when we least expect them, that show in the vibrancy of flowers and the hues of a sunset. I love the colors that make us stop and look and notice something that would have been so easy to overlook. I settled on a yarn that was produced right here in your home state of WV and is made of the wool from sheep and the fleece of alpacas. I mixed it with another yarn that came from across the sea and reflects the changing colors of water—blues and greens. These yarns have produced a simple shawl that will wrap you in love and remind you always of your home and God’s world.

As I have knitted this shawl I have thought about the wool, the sheep, the shepherds, the spinners, that all had a part in producing something for you that will be a symbol of love and faith. And my thoughts have turned to this Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, the Sunday before your baptism, Good Shepherd Sunday and the passages that will be read in gatherings of worship throughout the world. 

The 23rd psalm and the 10^th chapter of the Gospel of John are beautiful reminders that we are loved and cherished by God and that we are called to follow and walk in the ways and paths of Christ.

Did you know that through your maternal ancestry at least, you come from a long line of wool workers, fiber artists, knitters, weavers, dyers, and shepherds? I am sure on your father’s line there are many others who have passed down to you, skills and beauty as well, but it is your mother’s line that I know most about. 

I know that my ancestors were weavers, taking wool from sheep, spinning it into yarn, and weaving it into practical things, like blankets to keep others warm on cold winter nights.

I know that my Grandmother Maggie was very, very talented, making knitting and crochet items of beauty and usefulness.

I know that my great grandmother Junie knitted all the time, making practical items for her family. I am certain that she taught my mother to knit, who in turn taught me to knit, and I in turn taught your mother to knit. I have a pair of slippers that she knitted, and I cherish them, holes and all.

Did you know that both of your parents are knitters? Already making for you items that are special to them and therefore to you. Some day they will teach you as well and you will be able to feel the wool of sheep in your fingers and perhaps smell the fresh air and sunshine that the sheep felt as well.

Did you know that your great grandmother, Granddad’s mother was a shepherd?  When she was growing up, she took care of sheep, her sheep. She got to know them, their names and faces, their curiosity, when they were scared or in trouble or needed some extra attention. She was a woman filled with so much love, and I am sure that her sheep knew her and trusted her.

So, you are surrounded by those who love wool and know shepherds and who know the good shepherd, who is Christ our Lord. As I have knitted your shawl, I have thought about your ancestors, my ancestors, and I have thought about the Good Shepherd.

We have these wonderful images of the Good Shepherd—

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want are the opening lines of the best known psalm in the Hebrew scriptures. It is a psalm of comfort for so many people. And I think a psalm of challenge as well.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…

            Caring for us as a shepherd cares for sheep by

                        Protecting

                                    Calming

                                                Feeding and watering

                                                            Taking us to places where we can grow

            This is all that we need really, Jack.

                        Not wanting doesn’t mean that we have everything our heart desires. It doesn’t mean that we can accumulate more and more. It means that we have what will help us thrive and grow.

            He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. 

 These lines always make me think of my childhood and the shaded woods just at the edge of my Grandpa Thorn’s pastures. Grandpa Thorn was your great, great grandfather. In that shaded place was Withrows Creek, that babbled and sang to me on hot and humid NC days. I would put my feet in the creek and feel the cool water that swirled around. It was peaceful and refreshing and a place that to me is still holy.

And I always felt restored.

There was also a place in the creek where the water moved so slowly that it seemed to stand still. I remember how my grandfather would lay down beside that place when the sun got too hot to work in the fields and he just needed a break for a spell.  

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name sake

If we are following this good shepherd, Jack, it means that we go where he goes. We think of Jesus as our good shepherd, so it means that we go where Jesus went, where Jesus goes, into places of comfort and joy, but also into places where we will meet others who need hope and security and love and mercy and grace in their lives. We will follow the good shepherd into places where we might not feel comfortable and do for them what Jesus would do for them, loving them and helping them. Sometimes we will see that what we offer can help others. Sometimes we will be rejected. No matter what we are following our shepherd and that is what we are to do.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me.

Not everything in life will be smooth and uninterrupted. Life has challenges for all of us. Jesus never told us that following him would be a smooth path. But following the Good Shepherd means that we are never alone, that we always have by our side the one who knows us best and loves us most. There will still be challenges, but we are not alone. We are not abandoned. We are loved and cherished.

They rod and staff they comfort me.

Rods and staffs are the tools of the shepherd. They help the shepherd to keep the community of sheep—the flock of sheep—together for security and protection. A staff is used when a sheep is in trouble and they need help coming back into the fold. This image is to help us feel secure when we follow our good shepherd, even when following the shepherd might lead to places of shadows

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear know evil for you are with me, your rod and staff comfort me.

            That means that no matter what we face

                                    How we might suffer

                                                When we feel alone or lost or just don’t know where to turn

                                                            We are not alone. Our Good Shepherd is with us.

 Even if we feel abandoned by that Good Shepherd, the promise is that the shepherd never abandons us and if we look around us, to the shepherd, we will find the right way out of those shadows.

            You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies.

As I have grown older, this verse means to me that the good shepherd provides even a means of reconciliation with others. How can we have a banquet prepared for us, in the presence of those who think differently than we do, or who are on the other side of us, and not invite them to the banquet? When we eat and feast together, differences can fall away. Laughter can spring up. Joy can surround us. And peace begins to work in our hearts and lives.

            My cup overflows.

We find ourselves in gratitude to the good shepherd. We have everything we need to thrive in this life.

                                                            And then some

                                                                        Enough for ourselves

                                                                                    Enough to share

            Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of God forever.

Goodness is wonderful, but mercy is even better. There will be times you will make mistakes or forget to follow the shepherd’s path, but the shepherd will not reject you. That is mercy. Forgiveness. Hope. Starting over. Getting back on the path. 

            And life with the good shepherd is now and forever.

This psalm would have been enough for us, dear one, but in the 10^th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus reminds us to this image in several different ways: there he says, “I am the good shepherd.”

And

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

So, Jack, knitting this shawl for you has been a gift for me. I have repeated these words as I have knitted:

                                    Jesus, you are the good shepherd.

And I have repeated these words:

                                    May Jack here your voice and follow you

Knitting this shawl has reminded me of the deep love of our good shepherd in my life, in the lives of our family members and friends, in the lives of my congregations and your parents’ congregations. All who are present today have prayed a prayer for you as they have held this shawl and passed it around. I hope that they have also prayed for the children in their lives and for the children of the world.

Both of my congregations have prayed over your shawl, holding it in their hands as they silently prayed for you and for the children in their lives and for the children of the world.

And when you get back home, both of your Dad’s congregations will pray over your shawl.

So, this shawl is heavy with prayers for you. I hope that it will remind you to pray for others, follow the path of the Good Shepherd and listen for his voice in your life—always.

You are loved and cherished, dear Jack Jack.

Peace and Love 
Gramma