Don’t Grandparents Already Know Everything?
Upon picking up my grandson, Kuyper, from a practice one night, we asked each other about our evening. I’d just come from my Grandmother’s Small Group, and I shared about how my friends and I were reading through the Bible together. Legitimately surprised, he emphatically questioned “What?!! Why would grandparents need to study the Bible together? Don’t they already know everything?!!”
As much as his 7-year-old perspective warmed my heart, I attempted in the moment to convey the reasons why grandparents most definitely need to keep learning and growing together. As I’ve pondered his question more, my list of “Why’s” has grown, but two important reasons are . . .
Because the Stakes are High: As grandparents and possibly the current Matriarchs and Patriarchs of our families, we’re positioned to offer the wisdom of experience to a growing family. No matter if we have one adult child and one grandchild or five adult children and twenty grandchildren, if we’re a grandparent, our family has grown in some measure. We have more children to impact than our original family and more years of experience.
Regardless if our mid-life years were spent walking closely with the Lord or at a distance from Him, grandparenting years present a new opportunity for spiritual growth and the fruitful impact that will flow out of that. None of us knows the number of our days, but in the Grandparenting stage, we do know that each day is a gift—and that each day we move closer to the culmination of our final earthly breaths.
When we’re in the Word, we’re more likely to seize our opportunities and pass Him on to the generations who come behind us in our everyday interactions. Hebrews 13:15 beautifully expresses, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (ESV). In this high-stakes season, let’s commit together to being life-long students of God’s Word, however long the remainder of our life might be.
Because “Iron sharpens iron.” Whether our grandkids are in elementary school or college, grandparents frequently pray for the friendships of our grandchildren—friendships are one of the most crucial aspects of their life choices. We ache for our grandkids to have godly friends who will nudge them in the right direction and follow Christ alongside them through the struggles of growing up.
It’s easy to forget the importance of those same friendships in our later years. The oft’ cited Proverbs 27:17 is for all of us: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (NIV).
I need others to journey alongside me. The wisdom and godly counsel of others when I’m doubting myself, feeling weary, or vastly underqualified keeps me going. Even though every grandparent’s circumstances vary—from our geographical proximity, to ages of grandchildren, to still working full-time, or babysitting full-time, in humility, we can all learn from one another—and just as importantly, encourage one another. The more spiritually and emotionally healthy friendships we have, the healthier we are, and the healthier our impact will be.
That’s the reason for This Grandparent Life. We’re all in This Grandparent Life together. Let’s collectively live it out SO THAT we can have fruitful impact. I need you, and together we need the salvation, strength, and guidance of our Triune God.
Kay Fuller (a.k.a. Grammy Kay)