Make the Most of Being a Grandparent - Don't Worry; It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren

I've been writing for several years about how important it is for us, as grandparents to hand down a heritage of confident faith. One way I do this is to let you know about resources to help you as you do this. In Don't Worry; It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren, along with sharing some of my "cute-grandson stories", I talk about important things for grandparents to think about and keep in mind as they focus on handing down a heritage of confident faith to their grandchildren.  Today I thought I'd share another "look" at the book with a short excerpt from my book . . . 

My grandsons typically spend Friday or Saturday night at my house for a sleepover. One such sleep-over night when my middle grandson was four years old, he brought his red elephant toy/pillow with him to our sleep-over. This red elephant reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit, so I will quote a bit for you . . . 

 

“When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

 

Caleb’s red elephant is, ‘Real’. It was originally fluffy and soft and really cool – three years prior to this event when he received it for his birthday from his Aunt – but by this time the tusks were worn down to just strips of fabric and the ‘fur’ was matted and worn . . . it was “Real”. It was loved and it was the reason his poppa and I made a 40 minute round trip to take it to him at his house . . . he forgot it at our house and “needed” his red elephant to go to sleep.

 

When he was four, Caleb had to have his red elephant with him at bedtime. His red elephant was comforting. He told me the following Wednesday when I saw him, he knew his Poppa and I would bring his red elephant to him. He trusted us! He was right. We love him, understood he was little, and were willing to make the trip to take it to him.

 

Caleb’s red elephant reminds me of our relationship with God. As the years go by, we may feel like our “Hair has been loved off, our eyes drop out, we get loose in the joints and are very shabby.” But these things do not matter at all to God, because He loves us. Really loves us! We are “Real” to Him; and so are our grandchildren.

 

So, if you – or your grandchildren – are feeling a bit, “worn, shabby or loose in the joints”, take heart! We are dearly loved by God – look at Jeremiah 33:3 . . .

 

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

 

And don’t you just love how God gives us little opportunities in our day-in-day-out lives where we are able to point our grandchildren to Him and His great love for them? The weekend following the “Real red elephant situation”, my grandsons and I talked about these things – all because Caleb’s Real, red elephant was left behind!

 

Caleb trusted us to love him enough to care if he had his Real, red elephant or not. He told me he was not upset at all or concerned in the least when he discovered it was missing and remembered he left it at my house, because he knew we would bring it to him; he trusted us to care.

 

And, because I want to grandparent on purpose, I was sure to talk with my grandsons about how just like they trust their Poppa and I to care about them, they absolutely were able to trust God to love and care for and about them as well. It is a great reminder to this grandma to remember I am “Real” to God and to trust Him as well!

I want my grandsons to know I love them. I want them to know they are able to trust me. I want them to know I want them to talk with me and I will listen to them. I want them to know all these things about God, too! 

In Don't Worry: It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren you will find "fun grandson stories" and ideas for connecting with the children you love so you are able to hand down confident faith! Don't Worry; It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren is a good book for grandparents to read on their own, or for small groups and Sunday school classes to work through together. Get a copy for yourself and please recommend it to the grandparents you know!