It's GRAND!

If it's white... they like it...

First choice for my grandchildren when I ask, "What would you like for dinner?" is nearly always pasta, rice, rolls.  They are good eaters & like lots of things, including fruits of nearly all kinds & lots of veggies/salad, but their standbys are the "white things".  So I keep them on hand...

In today's culture I know there are lots of families who do not have grandparents nearby, and I know they have to be quite creative to keep a positive relationship going.

When our children were young we were in a very "mission-minded" church, & were reminded that one of the biggest obstacles to young people going to the mission field was their parents.  So when I offered each of my children to God to use however & wherever He chose, it was a real step of faith.  However, as a new Christian, I would always add on to my prayer, "God, if you choose to not send them to the other side of the world, would you let at least one of them live in the same town we do so that we could be real grandparents?"

Now I know that there are real grandparents who live far away from their grandchildren (& I'm amazed at the ingenuity they use to stay connected).  But growing up, I had one set of grandparents close enough that I could ride my bicycle to their house.  I would never have thought of knocking at their door!  I would never have thought of coming in or leaving without a hug & a kiss.  I knew that if I needed it, my grandma would "administer discipline" (better known as a switch to my legs...)  And I knew that I was deeply loved by both of my grandparents.  Though they never knew Jesus, they set the example for me of what kind of grandparent I wanted to be.

Since I have had the privilege of knowing Jesus, I get to use the model of grandparenting set by my grandparents and more importantly, the model of loving set by my Savior.  Being a part of my grandchildren's lives is one of life's greatest blessings!  I'm thankful that their parents allow, even encourage us to be involved! 

Grandchildren have to be good for one's health:

 they make me laugh, frequently & heartily;

 they help me look at things from a child's perspective, which is often so refreshing;

 they challenge me in many ways (when I have just one of them in the car, I seem to get the questions, that I tell their mom, "I already had my turn at explaining the tough issues...");

they challenge me physically (I have no idea where they get so much energy!);

 they drive me to my knees, looking at the culture in which they are having to grow up, knowing that only through God's grace will they "survive" as growing Christians & find their lifetime mate who will be "one who loves Jesus with all their heart first & loves ___ (name of grandchild) second only to Jesus" (my constant prayer for all of them); 

they make me want to take good care of my health so that I can enjoy them for all my life on earth; 

and they give me pure joy!

I pray that I will always be a godly influence in their lives & set an example before them that will make them look forward to one day being a grandparent themselves.