I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.
2 Timothy 1:5.
The office of the Mission for Sailors in Seward, Alaska, is a favourite meeting place for the crews of cruise ships that dock in the port there. Every sailor, no matter what his citizenship is, finds a hearty welcome there. He can telephone back home or send his family a message. Bibles and Christian literature in many languages and dialects are available for them. For some it is their first contact with the Word of God, for others a reminder of their past.
One day a sailor was scrutinizing a shelf full of Bibles with interest and amazement. Finally he picked out a Polish children’s Bible, started reading it and said after a while, “My grandmother used to read me out of this picture Bible.” The expression on his face showed how vivid this reminiscence still was.
The employees at the mission are surprised again and again how often sailors remember the faith of their mother or grandmother. They mention the influence these persons had on them through their love and their relationship with God. It was not a superficial faith, but a firm support in their life. That was what made it inextinguishable in their memory.
It is said that in Russia and other countries where Christians have been and still are persecuted, the Christian faith has survived because of the grandmothers. They have kept the flame of faith burning for decades and told their grandchildren lovingly and courageously the truth about God.