To Timothy, my dearly loved child ... I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my forefathers did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.

Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. We don't know anything else about these women of God except what you're about to read. But the Bible does give us a rather lengthy look at their son and grandson. So in a way, we know a lot about them. Aren't our children our most telling reflection?

There was a day when the generations weren't so far apart when Grandma used to live next door or in the extra bedroom upstairs, not three states and seven hundred miles away. It means that for many of us, staying close to our children and grandchildren, taking seriously the task of imparting to them our years of firsthand Christian experience, requires a lot more time and effort. This might be a good week to start dropping some letters of memory and encouragement in the mail. Then you won't seem so far away.