Whimsical Musings

I'm being a little whimsical this morning as I think how I serve a God of the living, not the dead. My parents had a new great grandson born this week. I attended sunrise service in West Middlesex this morning, being told I look like my mother by an old friend, as I was surrounded by living people from my childhood.
I know God forms babies in the womb, Psalm 139 reminds us of this. As much as we love them, babies are not angels from Heaven, unless you think of angels as messengers, then I may concede the point. But I was thinking this morning, what if God does ask those who have gone ahead, "OK, your granddaughter is going to have a baby, folks. What is one quality you would like them to have? One character trait? One thing from you."
The grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents have an audience with the Father. Of course, they would not want any bad traits passed on. Maybe why Owen didn't get my dad's red wavy hair, but otherwise looks so much like him. Maybe Jeremiah will? Dad, like most of us, didn't really like his hair, although Mom adored it. She had poker straight hair and she would not pass that along, I think, if she had a choice. But her color, we would all envy. Dad's red hair prompted the Italians, when he was in Italy in WWII, called him "Russo."
Well, maybe we don't choose our hair to pass on or not pass on. That may be a given. Although, maybe Grandpa Evans, said about Mary Ellen, "Give her that dark Welsh hair like my sisters, oh and throw in a singing voice, too, if that's not too much." Grandpa Lyon may have asked for the dark thick hair, too.
Grandma Lyon with Mary Ellen may have asked for her to be strong, which can be stubbornness as a child.
Grandma Evans may have asked for Alice to have China blue eyes and big, as well.
Maybe aunts and uncles get in on this wish list. "Well, I remember Jean had a giving heart. She always tried to keep me in new clothes or buy me dolls," Aunt June may ask for generosity.
God takes all the requests and knits together what He knows is best for each child, lovingly, knowing what that child will have to face in his life or hers. Or it's just genetics, personality, nature and nurture. Nah.