Seventy-nine grandchildren

While in Canada I had the privilege of attending a birthday party for one of my parents' good friends Mr. Andrew Viersen. His 79th grandchild was born just before he turned 79. Every time I go home I look forward to visiting with this family. They are godly, diligent, intelligent, and self-consciously Christian in all areas of their lives. It is marvelous to see the siblings support and help each other in the crises of life. One sibling was having a difficult pregnancy and needed bed rest, but with lots of siblings nearby it was easy to send three children to this sister's home, two to this sister, etc.

The birthday party was hosted by one of the daughters and her family. It was not possible to have the 50+ grandchildren that live locally there as it would have been too noisy. But the children of this daughter sweetly came around to serve us older folks -- coffee, Dutch pastries, chocolates, nuts, cheese, crackers, and salted herring (much loved among the Dutch). They then served soup and buns for lunch.

The next morning one of the sons was to host a pancake breakfast in honor of dad, and the previous day had been a busy one with both children and grandchildren present. Three days of feasting! I am so glad I observed this. It was a beautiful honoring of a true patriarch.