grandchildren

The Value of Godly Grandparents

September is the month when we celebrate National Grandparents Day. This is a blog to honor grandparents.

“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

It seems that there are more and more broken and dysfunctional homes these days. When parents are too busy, or if they are behaving selfishly and irresponsibly, the grandparents become very important in the lives of their grandchildren. They often become the legal guardians of their grandchildren to protect them from abuse and neglect.

My husband’s grandmother was the most influential person in his life, and for myself, my grandfather that lived with us for the last 15 years of his life was very important to me. Although he was very old, and we didn’t have a lot of meaningful talks, he was the only older male influence I had growing up (since I didn’t have a father). My mom had to work to support all of us, so he was there every day when we came home from school, and gave us a sense of security. I always felt bad that our children didn’t get to know well either of the only two grandparents that they had. We never lived near either of them, and my husband’s mother died while they were young. They did enjoy some time with my mom when we visited her or she visited us, and I’m so grateful that she lived with us for almost a year at the end of her life. Even though her physical and mental health were greatly diminished, they got to help care for her, and seemed to enjoy some of her childlike ways. I think that was a valuable life experience for all of us. It is very sad when a child never gets to know any of their grandparents.

S.W. Boreham, the Australian Christian of a century ago, wrote, “Grandfatherism gives every man a second chance. If his parents fail him, his grandparents may yet prove his salvation.

Perhaps history’s most dramatic illustration of that truth is King Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33. Manasseh was the son of good King Hezekiah, but even good men can have prodigal sons… When Hezekiah died, Manasseh assumed the throne, a teenage tyrant, horribly wicked. After a lifetime of violence, demonism, bloodshed, immorality, and the worst moral pollution the world had ever seen, Manasseh came to the Lord.

When he died at age sixty-seven, having served as Judah’s king for fifty-five years, his son Amon, age twenty-two, took over. He did such evil in the sight of the lord that his own people assassinated him after only two years, and his eight-year old son Josiah became king, and he was among Judah’s best kings–a godly man who repaired the temple and reestablished the worship of Jehovah among the people.

How can we explain Josiah’s passion for godliness? His grandfather had died two years before, but he had enjoyed his grandfather during his first six years. In other words, the last six years of Manasseh and the first six years of Josiah overlap; and the last six years of Manasseh were his repentant years, his godly years, his years of reform and contrition.

It was too late for him to influence his own son Amon, but it wasn’t too late for Josiah. We can easily picture the old king spending long hours with his small grandson saying, “Josiah, someday you’ll be king of this land; and you must never do the things that I did. You must serve the Lord Jehovah…” The story of Josiah is the story of a a grandfather’s influence.

(taken from Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes by Robert J. Morgan page 391)

History of “National Grandparents Day”
In 1973, West Virginia began a statewide campaign to set aside a special day just for grandparents, and later that year, a resolution was introduced in the United States Senate. In 1978, Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. “September was the month chosen, signifying the ‘autumn years’ of life….”

(from Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes by Robert J. Morgan page 389)

2 Timothy 1:5 “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois.”

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Teach [these things] to your children and your grandchildren.”

 

Reflecting, Remembering, and Helpful Hints for Aging Well

 

The dictionary definition of “reflect” is “to recollect or realize after thought, to think seriously; contemplate upon”; and the definition of “remember” is to “recollect , recall, or to bring back to mind again.”  Although, they are not synonyms, there is a similarity between the two words.

Thirteen years ago, my children bought me a unique journal called  “Reflections from a Mother’s Heart, Your Life Story in Your Own Words.” This type of book becomes a family legacy for your children. It also helps you remember important and interesting experiences from your past. Families used to have more time- and take more time- to talk to each other, to tell stories from the past, to look at their photos and photo albums, and even to read together.

However, in recent years, it seems like most families are living “life in the fast lane”. Everyone is too busy doing their own thing. Some families never even have a sit-down meal together anymore. I am really not surprised that there are so many elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease these days. Many seniors are left alone, not seeing their children or grandchildren very often. They often just watch television or look at Facebook to pass their time. I just read an article about how grandparents stay younger and healthier if they help care for their grandchildren. Learning a language or studying things that challenge the brain (like Algebra) can also help keep their brain healthier. Fasting, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, cutting back on foods with lots of sugar or caffeine, and  exercising more can also help keep the mind sharp.

Organizing and decluttering your life can help, since most people in our culture own too much “stuff”. Try having a “technology fast” regularly, and read more instead, especially biographies of men and women of faith; but most importantly, invite Christ’s control over every area of your life and learn to “abide in Him” (Read John 15 and 1 John 2:28) As you reflect, especially on God, and enjoy the beauty of his creation, you may actually experience peace and quietness in your own private world.