Christian Grandparenting Blog

Are you, like many grandparents, caught in the middle? Being pulled in two directions? Even though we have learned to trust God’s provision, sometimes we still want more. More opportunities. More responsibilities. And, yes, more stuff. Other days, we want less. Fewer distractions. Fewer responsibilities. Less stuff to take care of and worry about. Maybe we’re experiencing a personal tug of war because we’ve done so much, but still feel we have much to do.

Harvest has always been an important time of year when hard work bears fruit of the labors. It is symbolic of bounty, health, and abundance. Throughout the Bible, harvest carries spiritual significance. It is the result of God’s work in the heart of man. It is his provisions and blessing for us.

Prayer provides a natural avenue for us to share our spiritual inheritance. It offers us a platform from which we can communicate the love we have for our family and God. It affords us the opportunity to confirm our Lord’s abiding presence and steadfast love, and opens the door for us to teach our grandchildren about how to trust and depend upon Jesus.

Do you recall when you first began to feel that your parents didn’t fully understand you? Perhaps that moment happened so long ago that it's fuzzy.  This feeling is what social scientists refer to as generational distance. Experiencing generational distance is fairly normal, although it tends to manifest differently throughout the ages.

You may live close. You may live far. You may have lots of time with your grandkids or a few precious hours. But I’m guessing that whenever you’re with your grandchildren, you take every chance to share your wisdom and experience. The familiar term “teachable moment” comes to mind. Perhaps more important than teachable moments are “prayable moments.” Taking advantage of prayable moments allows you to model how to pray, confirms the power of prayer, and opens the hearts of your grandkids about the needs of others.

Praying for family and friends is pretty common among Christians. Sometimes we pray for safety during travels or for a successful job search. We ask for God’s favor over health care crises or legal challenges. But, some of our toughest prayers are for eternal salvation of loved ones who have strayed from their faith. These are our prodigals.

One of the most sensitive topics is whether grandparents should discipline their grandchildren. Close behind is the question of how to handle the situation when our adult children have different discipline approaches or rules than we do. Disputes may arise over things such as food, bedtime, manners, screen time, smart phones, internet usage, and social media. Grandparents had to handle some of these with their own children, but many of them are new challenges for today’s parents.

It is true that “ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims”. This truism might never be more applicable than to today’s insistence upon a gender identity ideology based upon “feelings” and the push to “discover yourself”. You need to do your own digging into the truth about gender identity—one based upon reality, not cultural tastes, or feelings.