Proud as a Peacock!
"Honey," grandma said sweetly as she took the last sip of coffee her little grandson had made her, "why are there two little army guys in my cup?" "Well, they say on TV, 'The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.'" Grandma smiles.
Proverbs says "Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren" (17:6 CEV)-proud as peacocks.
After our first grandchild, I couldn't imagine having love left over for another. But after another, and another…I learned that a grandparent's love is limitless.
"The bond between a child and a grandparent is the purest, least psychologically complicated form of human love" (Dr. Arthur Kornhaber, author). Grandparents can offer an emotional safety net when parents falter, passing on traditions-stories, songs, games, skills, and crafts. And, they often have more time.
Kornhaber found that children close to a grandparent are more emotionally secure and have more positive feelings about older people and the process of aging. Grandparents are grand parents. Grand means having more importance than others; foremost; having higher rank; large and striking in size, scope, extent, or conception; very good; wonderful.
At 46, the average American woman becomes a grandmother. Some become grandparents at 29. Baby boomers are becoming grandparents and step-grandparents, adding to the over 60 million in America today. Many grandparents can now petition for visitation rights. Support groups give legal advice.
Modern mobility means many grandparents learn the techniques of long-distance grandparenting. Others provide regular childcare. In almost a million American homes, grandparents raise their grandchildren. Five million live full-time with grandparents.
Our Past
One gift grandparents can give grandchildren is the past-oral histories of the family. "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a pony" grandma mused. "Wow," said the little girl, "Wish I'd known you sooner!"
Grandpa Jacob gathered his sons and grandsons around him, blessed them, and said: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me." Jacob related his relationship with God and his spiritual legacy. His recital was remembered and passed on to a thousand generations. (Genesis 48)
Paul told Timothy, "the genuine faith that is in you…dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice." Moses said "Teach (my commands) to your children and your grandchildren."
We can't become Christians by being born into a Christian family, but by making a personal decision to follow Christ. Being raised in a loving Christian environment helps.
Our Presence
Spend time with your grandkids. Make your home user-friendly. Grandparents can instill in grandkids a love for God's Word and His people. Talk to them, tell stories, and read them Scripture.
Charles Spurgeon's life was molded by his grandfather's stories. You too have stories your grandchild would like to hear.
Some grandparents record stories their grandkids listen to at bedtime. Vacations, letters, emails, and phones provide time with grandchildren when they are not near.
Our Provision
Grandparents may help provide clothing, books, toys, or college seed money for their grandchildren. A few extras by a loving grandparent can make a big difference.
Our Prayers
Grandparents can give their grandchildren a legacy of prayer-praying and claiming Scripture before the throne of grace. Samuel said to the Israelites, "God forbid that I should sin against heaven by failing to pray for you."
I pray regularly that God will protect my grandchildren and help them grow up to know Christ. One day my oldest grandchild called to say he'd accepted Jesus into his heart-an answer to my prayers.
We grandparents can pray best for our grandchildren because there's a bit of their parents each of them. We already know a lot about their parents, so we can pray knowingly.
"A life thoroughly committed to Christ, lived and tested over time, seasoned with experience and humility, is more powerful than most people ever imagine. People who have a heritage of godly grandparents carry this influence in their lives sometimes without recognizing its source" (Jay Kesler).
Or as the Bible puts it, "Children's children are a crown to the aged" (Proverbs 17:6). And those peacock-proud people who realize it are the grandest people of all.
This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah's devotional magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-947-1993
for your complimentary copy of Turning Points. Page Source (url): http://www.crosswalk.com/1319441/