Grandparents.com features another outtake from Anne Lamott's new book about her grandson (note to self: I must read more Anne Lamott books!), this one about her little grandson being in the ER, while she waited at home for news about how he was doing. This is such a familiar story to most of us grandparents: we sometimes feel so powerless to help the people we love so much.
Her story about how she trusted God in this situation was so inspiring, and it made me think about the ways we can truly have an effect on our grandkids' lives. Yesterday, our 6-year-old got to read out of her Bible during children's church (Matthew 28:19-20), and she was so glad she brought her Bible with her, and that she could read it well. What a joy to have bought that Bible for her this past Christmas, and to have worked with her on her reading over the years. We're not with her every day to encourage her to read it, but buying a really interesting and age-appropriate Bible has helped her to enjoy it more.
We're the influencers in our grandkids' lives, not the decision-makers that we were with our own kids. This may seem like a pretty powerless situation for us, but don't underestimate the long-term effects. We won't truly know how much we affected our grandkids until they're grown, but I believe the influencing is worth the effort.
1 comment:
Yes we are influencers! And we can make a difference. My grandmother had a huge influence on me and I only saw her maybe a dozen of times as a child.
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