Christian Grandparenting Blog

The birds outside my window keep jockeying for position on the tubular feeder that has room for two or three at a time to tug seeds through the fine mesh housing. Patience has its rewards. Perhaps, the biggest challenge to my patience is waiting as my teenage grandchild works – sometimes struggles – to overcome developmental hurdles. It’s difficult because my natural inclination is to swoop down and fix the problem the same way I did for him as a toddler. Things are different. Now that he’s dealing with rapid-fire hormones, his problems are more cerebral than physical. 

Many of us are familiar with the parable of the Friend at Midnight found in the eleventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel. The word parable means something laid alongside another. Jesus masterfully employs parables to teach and illustrate divine truths. A parable is a simple story with two levels of meaning. The first level is concrete and easy to understand. It contains a narrative with a familiar setting and engaging storyline. The next level, which can be more difficult to grasp, contains the underlying message. Comprehension of the second level depends on the heart of its listener.

One of the godly characteristics from the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) is “longsuffering” which is translated as “patience”. When we think of patience, we often associate it with self-control, or restraint while waiting. But the patience listed in the fruit of the Spirit has a different meaning. It comes from the Greek word makrothumia and means forbearance or longsuffering. It’s not the patience we need while sitting in traffic, a phone call from the doctor, or our long workday to end. It’s the ability to bear ongoing hardships in anticipation of future relief from God. It’s enduring suffering without complaining. It’s being slow to anger while waiting on God to provide comfort.

If you’re like me, when someone mentions a camping program, you might imagine bunk beds in rustic cabins with separate shower houses, and activities designed for younger bodies—not aging ones. GrandCamp, however, is a different kind of “camp” experience designed specifically for grandparents and their grade-school age grandchildren. At GrandCamp you not only enjoy hotel-style accommodations with private baths but get to participate in fun activities designed for both grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy. And if there’s an activity you in which you do not feel comfortable participating, you can still cheer your grandchildren on enthusiastically.

Tragically, today’s youth tend to be illiterate when it comes to reading the Bible. As grandparents, we have the opportunity to make a difference by taking 15 minutes to teach our grandchildren how to read the Bible, starting with how to search for Scripture references. 

I believe that by God’s grace and mercy, He allows trials to come into our lives. Trials create an opportunity for God to work in us to become more like Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 5:3-5 that suffering produces patience, perseverance, character, and hope. Many people believe that once you become a Christian it should be smooth sailing from there on out. But is that really what God promises us? 

As a grandparent, you find yourself in a ringside seat watching as your own children—the parents of your grandkids— frantically, lovingly, and sometimes methodically devote themselves to surviving the here and now. Certainly, you might prudently come alongside those new or struggling parents with encouragement, small gestures, well-timed visits, labors of love, gentle insights, and an occasional financial investment. But while mom and dad think short term, grandma and grandpa have the luxury of thinking long term. That’s the key to building your legacy and orchestrating opportunities to share spiritual truth.

One of the strongest human desires is for peace, whether it be peace in our families, peace with our neighbors, peace with our co-workers, peace between nations, or even peace within our own minds. There are many situations in our life and in the world that make us feel we have no peace. At times our life seems to be a rocky place making us feel anxious, frustrated, and living in chaos. This is when we take a moment and be still. It is when we reflect on God and who he is. As we focus on the peace offered by the fruit of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the Holy Spirit is with us and the overwhelming peace of God is in us.