"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
~ Proverbs 22:6
I was asked, "How does this apply to grandparents?"I'll put it this way:
I had one kid.
I thought I could never love a kid as much as my Eden.
Then I had Karis, and I loved her just as much.
Then I had Justin, and I loved him just as much.
Now I Robin and want to foster/adopt a kid, because the love just seems to keep flowing!
So if my instincts are correct, grand parents find that they have as much love welling up for their grandchildren as they do their own children.
And if as parents we suffer when our children suffer (and all kids will suffer some pain),
I think this means that grandparents suffer two-fold: for their grand kids, and kids!
So what what does this mean?
I think it means that Grandparents should play a two-fold role "training up."
They get to train up their children, and their grandchildren.
And they get to do this for as long as god gives them breath.
Imagine if our kids had parents AND grandparents both spending copious amounts of time with them,
loving them,
building into them,
affirming them,
celebrating success with them,
helping them learn from disappointments and defeats without condemnation,
directing them in the unique and wonderful WAY that God made them to go?
Our kids/grand kids would be set!
Ancient Hebrew households grew by extension. A man would take a woman to be his wife. He'd spend the next year building a home onto his family's house. The couple would be married. They would have children. The family lived together, but the extended household would effectively raise the children and do life together.
Grandparents- we parents may not build our homes right next to yours,
but we still need you to build into our lives, and into the lives of your grandchildren.
So if I don't say it enough,
Thanks mom and dad Saylor, and mom and dad Tigchelaar, for building into the lives of our family.
You guys are pretty cool for old people!
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