Grandparents are one of the best things that God created. They bring so much love into our lives and they love our families. Still, God didn’t just create them to spoil our kids. Grandparents have a unique role in the lives of our families and God has created them for some amazing reasons.
They take joy in their grandchildren and love them no matter what. This doesn’t mean that they approve of everything they do, and most will say something if they don’t, but overall, they love their grandchildren. Also, they always love their adult children and are there for them.
2. They Anchor the Family
Grandparents can be the glue that holds families together. When people become parents, they often focus on the immediate members of their families, including their spouse or partner and their other children if they have them.
They also focus on the immediate needs of their families. However, grandparents help anchor us to where we came from and the legacy of our families.
3. They Are a Support System
Grandparents are one of the best support systems we have. They are always there no matter what is going on in our lives with a listening ear or shoulder to cry on.
4. They Have Wisdom
With their years of lived experiences, grandparents hold a lot of wisdom to impart to younger generations. Listening to their advice and stories enriches our lives and teaches us what to do in certain situations.
5. Passing on the Legacy
Through their stories and advice, grandparents pass on the legacy of our families from generation to generation. This means we will never forget where we came from.
6. To Teach Us Things
Our grandparents have many things to teach us and not just about life. They can also teach us to do things like how to cook, bake, sew, change a tire, etc. If your grandparent offers to teach you something, take them up on it. You may need to know how to do it in the future.
7. Prayer Warriors for Us
Grandparents are always happy to share their faith and pray for us in any situation. They will always go to God boldly on our behalf, and we can be assured of that.
8. Prayer Warriors with Us
Our grandparents are also glad to stand with us in prayer for our situation and for other people’s situations. They have spent many years praying and talking to the Lord about going to war in prayer for other people.
9. Teach Us about Faith
Our grandparents may be the first ones to teach us about faith. They do this by taking us to church when we are young, buying us our first Bibles, and taking us to Sunday school.
10. Model the Christian Life
They are great at modeling the Christian life for future generations. This includes studying the Bible at home, praying, attending services, loving our neighbors, practicing forgiveness, and helping others.
11. Tough Love
Our grandparents, being raised in a different era, are more inclined to employ tough love on our children. Instead of coddling children like is usual in today’s parenting age, they choose to discipline the child, which is also love and teaching right from wrong.
After all, Proverbs 13:24 says: “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.”
12. Lessons about Life
Our grandparents teach us fantastic lessons about life. Some of these lessons may include if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all, or good things don’t come easy.
They will be the first to tell us that life may not always go as planned and that we will learn a lot from it, but to still be glad we have breath in our lungs to live it.
13. To See the Best in Us
Grandparents always see the best in us, even when we don’t see it in ourselves. They are our champions and our cheerleaders, and that makes all the difference.
Hearing their encouragement and knowing that they see the good things in us makes all the negativity we may hear disappear.
14. Model Good Adult Relationships
The relationship between grandparents and their children should teach children what a good adult relationship looks like. The foundation should always be mutual respect, honesty, and love.
However, sometimes adults have disagreements, and this will teach children that even good relationships hit rough spots sometimes, but people get through it and move on.
15. Spoil Their Grandchildren
Let’s face it, one of the best things grandparents are good at is spoiling their grandchildren. It’s ingrained in them; they love being able to do things for their grandchildren that they couldn’t do for their kids.
This can include buying them things, taking them places, and having experiences with them to make memories.
16. Give Undivided Attention
We always get our grandparent’s undivided attention when we visit, which helps strengthen our bond with them. They love seeing us and hearing about what is going on in our lives and in our kids’ lives.
17. Second Chances
Because grandparents are so forgiving, they are often ready to give people in their lives second chances. They know that not forgiving someone is not healthy. In a society where people crucify others for their mistakes, we can learn a lot about forgiveness from our relatives.
18. Teach Manners
Manners have become a lost art in our society, but when our grandparents were young, there were certain ways you acted and ways you didn’t. The role of grandparents is to instill manners in their grandchildren and teach them how to act.
19. Having Fun
Spending time with our grandparents is always a fun experience. Whether it’s sharing stories, doing a puzzle, playing board games, or watching a favorite show or movie together, there’s never a dull moment. An amazing way to stay connected to our families is through grandparents.
20. Grandparents Are a Blessing
Those fortunate enough to still have their grandparents around should relish their presence. The older people in our lives are blessings to us and our families. They are a source of family history, comfort and support, love, wisdom, and faith.
They are the pillars of our families and where we came from. We love them, our children love them, and yes, even our pets love them. My boxer dog loved my grandfather on my dad’s side. We should love them and be a blessing to them just as much as they are to us.
21. Grandparents Help Us
Our grandparents help us in so many ways, like giving advice, being there to support us, going to war for us in prayer, and watching our children sometimes when we need them to. They love to help their family members and spend time with them every chance they get.
We serve an amazing God who created so many amazing people to share our lives with. Take some time today and think about how your grandparents have helped you and your children throughout the years.
Think about all the things they have imparted to your family and what a difference that they make. Then, take some time to call them, text them, email them, or go visit them to say thank you for all the ways they have enriched your life. You will make their day with your appreciation.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Edwin Tan
