Christian Grandparenting Blog

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.

One of the simplest ways to teach children the true reason we celebrate Easter is by making a batch of Resurrection Cookies. The ten-step process begins the evening before Easter Sunday, and is a treat for kids of every age. In the process, the account of Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection is explained.

Imagine sitting in a crowded airport, enduring a five-hour flight delay, and having a traveling companion ask: “Do you ever let God love you?” This is exactly what happened to best-selling author Phillip Yancy. The woman’s startling question exposed a “gaping hole” in his spiritual life. Mr. Yancy’s detailed description of this airport encounter stunned me. I put down his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, and contemplated the woman’s question. I realized for the first time that we have an awesome responsibility not only to teach our grandchildren about God’s love but to show them how to receive his love.

I cannot believe it has been so many years since these words spilled from my heart onto the page: "My husband, John, died suddenly and unexpectedly on July 10, 2018." 

Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that comes from God. The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Spirit. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, every believer is to grow the fruit of the Spirit, giving them God’s joy. Those who recognize Jesus as the promised Savior and Redeemer of the world are filled with joy. 

Grandparenting will never be simply about the grandparents and the grandchildren. Parents are a critical factor in that relationship, and rightly so. When the relationships with our adult children is a strong and positive alliance, grandparenting becomes a joy. Unfortunately, painfully tragic stories about grandparents being shut off from their grandchildren by one or both of the children’s parents is reality. While some of these situations could possibly be prevented, many may be outside our control. In either case, such situations, much like divorce, mean the children pay the heaviest price.