Year One: Done!

Written by Jane Larsen, Director of Connections, Legacy Coalition

We’ve had a full year of our favorite new titles: Grandma and Grandpa!

While we’re still waiting for our granddaughter to actually call us something, we love the new roles and all they contain.

Looking back on the past year, we see so much of God’s goodness and faithfulness. A few “aha” moments stand out. So much of what we see now is not what we expected.

Aha #1 – It’s not about our grandbaby

It’s also not about us. While this new little love has filled our world with so much joy, our thoughts and prayers for her parents have changed the most.

They are the ones God trusts to raise her. They are the ones navigating the plethora of choices parents must work through. They are the ones experiencing the most joy and most burden.

More than ever, they need our support, encouragement, and prayers.

When we bow our hearts before the Lord and talk to Him about them, I know it’s a holy, sacred time. We are hopeful, encouraged, and at peace.

Aha #2 – The word “redemption” has a new meaning

We fail as parents; it’s a fact. We have clearly seen how the new relationship of grandparenting allows space for a redeeming work with our children and with each other.

When we are invited to babysit our granddaughter, it’s easy to say “yes” without even checking the calendar. We will make it work.

When our kids were younger, it was too easy to work too much. The perspective of time and how to invest it has changed.

Not only do we want more time with our granddaughter, but our hearts’ desire is also to spend more time with our children, even though they are older now.

While there were times we were too harsh with our children, they get to see how the tenderness for our grandbaby carries over to them, too.

We’re thankful for the gentle healing that God can do in the moments when our love for our granddaughter causes our children to experience our love in a more profound way — God’s redemptive heart work.

Aha #3 – Our world got a whole lot bigger

There is a whole big world of all things grandparenting.

Obviously, we are eternally grateful for the influence of the Legacy Coalition. The line, “intentional Christian grandparenting” has shaped our decision-making almost daily.

Those three words have become our plumb line with our roles as Grammy and Grampy.

With all the resources, podcasts, social media posts, and “voices” out there, the Legacy Coalition provides peace and calm (with Grand Monday Nights, blogs, posts, the Summit national conference, etc.).

It has been our place of order in the clutter and a ministry we know we can trust for guidance and support.

Aha #4 – We will be sad (and a bunch of other unpleasant feelings)

We are sad when we say goodbye to Melia. We are sad when we see her change so much and know how much we aren’t part of.

We are burdened when we look at the politics of the day and think about how she may be impacted.

We worry when she gets sick and know it’s all new to her parents.

Just as we faced concern, fear, sadness, and anxiety over our children, we will face the same emotions again with our grandchildren.

This time, though, it’s different. We are not always (and maybe not often) going to provide a solution. We may not even be invited to offer counsel. It’s out of our control.

It becomes even more essential to trust everything to the Lord.

Our greatest action item is praying for our children and grandchildren, which provides us some comfort and help.

Aha #5 – Remembering our Biblical mandate matters

Deuteronomy 4:9 – “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children“

Our culture says we are done parenting when our children graduate. That is simply not true.

We may be done raising them, yet our God-given role of teaching them about the Lord never ends.

For our first year of grandparenting, this has been our sweetest joy and biggest hope! The “aha” of realizing God Himself has invited us to teach our children and their children about Him!

What else is better? What else has a greater purpose? What else is a better use of our time? Nothing!

The clarity of our purpose in this verse is precious and dear.

Conclusion

To all of us as intentional Christian grandparents and parents — we are not done teaching either generation.

Let us trust the Lord to help us know how best to do that. Let us pray humbly, passionately, and consistently for our children and grandchildren.

We are needed, still. To God be all the glory and praise for that!