“Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.”
PSALM 71:18
I love this verse. I mean, I really love it! The mission of grandparents is to proclaim God’s mighty miracles to our grandkids and to speak life into their precious hearts. We have the responsibility and privilege of gently infusing every activity…every conversation…every e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g with TRUTH about God’s love, his wisdom, and the stories of his mighty miracles.
3 Reasons our grandkids need us to stay mindful of our mission:
Their parents are busy…and tired
Remember what it was like raising little ones? It’s like throwing a handful of marbles in the air and trying to catch them all before they hit the ground. Frantic and exhausting. Even the best parents need reinforcements and what better reinforcement than grandpa and grandma! Though I collapse in my chair after a day with my grandkids, I’m thankful for the time we had together and I’m thankful for time to recharge. Parents need time to recharge, too.
Occupying our grandkids for even an hour can be an enormous blessing to their parents. Maybe it’s face-to-face or maybe it’s long-distance using something like the Messenger Kids App. (I’ll share more about this in the future!) Regardless of how it looks, being a relief pitcher now and then gives our grandkids parents who are refreshed and it gives us valuable time to make a positive impact on our grandbabies.
We love their parents
Let’s be honest, we’ll never agree with every parenting decision our kids make, but we love them, we want the best for them, and we know they want the best for our grandkids…even if we disagree about what “the best” is. Speaking positively about our kids, to their kids, is a gift that grandparents can give like no one else. “Your mommy loves you so much!” “You are so blessed to have a daddy who takes care of you!” It’s impossible to quantify the positive impact of affirming our kids…to their kids.
Decades of life have given us wisdom to share
Standing at my bathroom sink with 6-year-old Peyton by my side, I pop open a prescription bottle and take my daily dose. “What’s that for, grandma?”
Using humor to spare her the details, I answer, “to keep me from getting old.”
“But grandma, you’re already old.”
Yes, sweet girl. Yes, I am. But Job 12:12 tells me that wisdom is found in old age and that long life brings understanding. Proverbs 16:31 tells me that “gray hair is a crown of splendor.” My crown of splendor may be covered by L’Oreal Medium Brown, but my heart is full of wisdom that only decades of life can teach. Neglecting to pass it along – at just the right times and in just the right situations – is like throwing the cake away before it gets served.
It’s a cruel world sometimes and it’s easy to get discouraged, to feel irrelevant, and to forget the beautiful potential we have to empower the next generation with a passion for Jesus. Let’s remind each other.
KRISTI is the author of the Before books and coloring books for children and the Your Soul To Keep one-year prayer book for parents of adults. She writes to inspire parents and grandparents to shine the joy of Jesus into the lives of their families and to laugh without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25). She and her husband Tim live in Iowa where they love doing life with their sons and daughters-in-law, six grandbabies, and two very spoiled dogs. Contact Kristi at kristi@thelaughinggrandma.com or Facebook Messenger.