The Christian Grandmother

I can not wait to be a grandmother.

Some days the children and I will get to talking or I will start daydreaming about what the future will look like with small grandbabies around and I cherish those thoughts because they make me delightfully happy. I so look forward to the day when I get the indulgence to kiss their fat cheeks and hold their pudgy little hands into mine.

I want to take my precious grandchildren out and spend time with them. I can't wait to for that first conversation--I wonder what will it be about? A butterfly? A book? Jesus? Or Elmo?

While I am not a grandmother yet there are certain things I want to remember to do. I want to remember to help my children out with their first home and bless them with money every now and then. I want to surprise my grandchildren with gifts of clothes and toys. I want to take them to the park and go on slow walks with them discussing the trees and the birds in the air while holding hands. I want to be available as a babysitter so their parents could get some much needed rest and time for eachother. I want to be supportive and encouraging. I want to have big family get-togethers and not just annually for a family reunion--as often as possible! I want my grandchildren to make homemade cookies with me and get the kitchen really messy as we dance around the room. I want to teach them about the Lord and tell them about all the stories in the Bible and what He has done in my life.

But what I would not want to do is not be available. I don't want to be too busy to not have time for them. I do not want to criticize their parents or ridicule them or manipulate them in their parenting. I do not want to seem meddle-some, interfering were I ought not. They will surely need room to make their own mistakes and learn to become good parents. I also do not want my daughter or son-in-laws to resent coming to visit me because I am a source of discouragement to them. I do not want to look down upon my daughter-in-laws or my sons-in-laws and view them as 'outsiders' or 'intrusions' to our family---but instead I want to embrace them as welcomed, loved and accepted, my new sons and my new daughters--as if they were my own.

Grandparents today would be wise to invest in their children and their grandchildren and not just clock out when their child turns eighteen. They need to grasp the bigger vision--the one of reaching the next generation for the Lord.


"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:9

"Grandchildren are the crown of grandparents, and parents are the glory of their children." Proverbs 17:6

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous." Proverbs 13:22

Here we see some of scripture's teachings to grandparents. We see a command to the Israelites to teach their grandchildren about the Lord so that they would not forget Him. We are taught how to view grandchildren--as a crown. In other words- they are a blessing and should not be looked down upon. Christian grandmothers should only speak well of their grandchildren because they value them as the crowns that scripture declares, and they teach that to the world by how they refer to them. We also see grandparents generously thinking towards the future when it comes to their grandchildren and leaving them behind an inheritance.

If you are a grandparent reading this today I encourage you to use your time as a gift to bless other your families and those around you. You possess much wisdom and experience that needs to be shared and the Lord views your role as valuable to your grandchildren. Teach the younger, in the spirit of Titus 2, so that they can parent better and so your grandchildren will not forget the Lord as we have seen happen in the Bible. And remember-- that when a generation was not taught, they quickly forgot the Lord and worshiped idols instead.

Christian Grandmothers----you are IMPORTANT!

Be sure to take an active role in your grandchildren's lives before it is too late!

Time's a wastin'...!





(The Christian Mother Series, Part 20)