Month: March 2019

A Gift for Your Grandchild

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Photo courtesy of Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Writing about your grandchild’s life can be a wonderful experience for both of you, a shared adventure much like a memorable road trip. For both writing and traveling, it is virtually impossible to reach your destination without some degree of planning and preparation. Imagine starting out without knowing how you will get to your destination, or even where your destination might be? Without a map or GPS?

Think of your writing destination as the first time your grandchild reads what you have written about them. Keep this image at the forefront of your mind as you consider what you want to say. What expression do you see on your grandchild’s face? What emotions would you hope to see reflected in that face?

On their own, a GPS or road map won’t get you anywhere, but they sure can help shorten the time it takes to reach your destination and make the journey more pleasant. The same principles apply to writing. Stories flows more smoothly when they follow a clear direction and targeted goal. Lifetimes follow a rhythmic flow of experiences and chapters of life. The framework for memory is laid and a legacy is engineered one experience at a time.

Start simply. Write one story about your grandchild. It doesn’t need to be longer than a letter, but be sure to include as many details as you can recall. Write about your feelings. Then read your story to see if it has a lesson you want to share with your grandchild. Perhaps your grandchild demonstrated one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control. Say it!

Hmm, how about writing one story or letter for each of the spiritual gifts you see in your grandchild. Imagine what a gift that would be.

Send your thoughts to: barbhowe.org.

Grandparenting at the Speed of Age

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Photo courtesy of Andre Benz on Unsplash

Time is experienced differently by children and adults. Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Didn’t we just celebrate” (a birthday, Christmas, or the start of summer) a few days ago?” From a child’s perspective, the time between annual events must seem endless. To me, not so much. The difference seems to stem from the ratio of years to age.

A one-year cycle represents something like 12 percent of an 8-year-old’s life, a far smaller percentage for those in my age range. I thought about this the day after my grandson celebrated a special event, when he suggested what he wanted to do the next time around, as if he might forget before it happened. Do your grandkids do this stuff?

From an eternal perspective, we are all speeding through time. The difference is that youth views life as a long road with an eventual end; oldsters reflect on the long journey traveled while pondering our ultimate destination. An abstract conclusion ages into an imminent reality. Having experienced this transition, I now view each new year as a possibility, eternity as a certainty.

Nobody can accurately count our remaining days on earth. That could be why some of us live as if today may be our last. One of our duties  as grandparents is to prepare future generations for eternity, and to do so in a manner that balances the delights of this life with the unimaginable joy of meeting our Savior face to face.

We are not responsible for bringing our grandchildren to faith in Christ. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit. Our duty is to present the Word of God to younger generations and encourage them by example. It means obeying the command given to us in Deuteronomy 4:9: “Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

Send your comments to barbhowe.org.