Now that the new year is here, many people find themselves thinking about “time” . . .in particular, how best to use the time we have to the glory of God. For example, as a grandparent, I want to make sure I am intentionally using the time God has given me to be there for my grandchildren.
I know some grandparents feel it is wise to set limits on time with their grandchildren, especially if their adult children believe grandparents should be on-demand at their beck and call without consideration for plans the grandparents may have. On the other hand, there are some who simply want to be “freed up” to enjoy their retirement on their terms.
While I understand the need to address an on-demand attitude which expects availability on their terms, I think those who give more priority to their retirement plans than their responsibilities as grandparents have completely missed the wisdom of intentionality with our grandchildren. Personally, I am happy to spend time with my grandchildren as often as possible. I know not everyone is in the position to be as available as I am. I am privileged to keep my grandsons for a sleep-over at my house each week; in fact, on the day I wrote this post, my grandsons had an extra sleep-over the previous night because they were on Christmas break. I appreciate every opportunity I have to spend time with these three sweet gifts from the hand of God!
So, why do I believe it is real wisdom to spend as much time with my grandchildren as I can? Consider the following . . .
- In Deuteronomy 6 God tells us to pass our faith on to our children’s children. My husband and I firmly believe God wants us to be engaged and focused on passing on our faith. (There are more than 600 references in the Bible to this very thing.)
- We believe we are investing our time in what matters the most now, while our grandsons are young, so as they grow up, we will have the place, the relationship with them we need to pass on our faith.
- We believe it matters what we do now. We are not getting any younger; there are no guarantees we’ll be around tomorrow, next month, next year or in five years. While none of us have any guarantees about how long we are on this earth, as we get older, we know our time on earth is getting shorter. Why would we want to spend whatever amount of time we have left doing things which do not really matter? We want our grandchildren to grow up to be teens and then young men and then adults who know, love and walk with God. Selfish pursuits–even if they are good things–are not things which truly matter.
- My husband and I want our son and daughter-in-law to know they can depend on us. When they need help or someone to stay with the boys, we want them to know they can turn to us. There isn’t anyone else they can turn to who loves the boys more (my daughter-in-law’s parents/family live in other states). It is important for them to know they can depend on us. If we can not be there for them, who will?
- We know how very blessed we are to be able to spend time with our grandsons. Many grandparents do not live near their grandchildren. We do. This is a blessing from God; one for which we are most thankful, one we do not take for granted and one which we will not squander.
There are more reasons, but these are the Top Five Reasons my husband and I have for being there, for making the choice to focus on spending time with our grandsons, for being intentional about passing on our faith and for recognizing we are oh, so blessed to be able to do these things.
