Birthright

"Maddie, do people ever tell you how pretty you are?" I asked my little granddaughter as I admired the smiling 5-year-old at breakfast at their house, to which she answered, "Well, they always say something about my hair." And no wonder. It's her crowning glory, if I do say so myself.

"Do you know where that red hair came from?" I asked her. She shook her head, and I told her that my mother had red hair, and that she got it from her, her daddy's grandmother.

"Where is your mama?" she wanted to know. I told her Mama was in heaven, but I would show her a picture of her on my iPad. Maddie had also asked about my dad, so I pulled up a picture of them together. "He looks like Uncle Mark," the perceptive little miss said. It was true. Our oldest son that she had gotten to know only recently does look like my father.

Then Maddie noticed that my mother's hair was red. "It looks like Cessy's," she said, remembering their au pair they'd had for a year with the same color hair.

"That's where you get it!" I said, exiting the screen, "From your great-grandmother!"

Mama had eleven children, but none of us had red hair! However, at family reunions, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are sprinkled like red pepper throughout the crowd. One of our six children has red hair, and he has a carrot-top son of his own, but Maddie is our only other red-haired grandchild.

On a vacation our son's family took to France a couple of years ago, Maddie attracted much attention. Total strangers, especially people from India or other Asians, would take her picture or want to touch her hair. It was a little unsettling for her parents, especially when someone would "accidentally" stand near the 3-year-old and have their picture taken.

I have read that red-heads make up only 2-4 percent of the world's population, and Scotland has the largest concentration, percentage-wise. I had always heard and said that my mother was Irish, what with her fair complexion, red hair and freckles. But a recent genealogy search by a family member has revealed that she was of Scottish descent!

I love teaching my grandchildren about their heritage. Nowadays, genealogy searches are all the rage. It is especially rewarding if one finds honor or royalty among their ancestors, but when a search reveals a scoundrel in the bloodline, not so much. What is most important is that we teach our children about their heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus, who shed His pure and perfect blood that we might inherit the Kingdom of God!