Grandparents Can Be God’s Greatest Gift
The other morning
while my husband Ned was picking up some groceries, he overheard two workers
talking;
"Here I am sixty years old," one man said to the other, "and I am raising my grand-daughter."
We had just
visited with two of our grandchildren the day before, five-year old Claire
and four-year old Andrew. We had laughed, hugged, taken a walk and picked
flowers, visited great-grandma Frances and gone out to eat. We had a wonderful
time with them, but when the day was over we were totally pooped! As much
as we love them and have so much fun with them, Ned and I remark how quickly
little ones can wear us out!
We are so blessed that all our children are healthy, dedicated parents. How
could we ever raise our grandchildren?
I look with
admiration at our friends who are doing that right now. These older chums
of ours are caring for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren and
are doing it well. Several years ago I read an article that confirmed that
over twelve million grandparents in the United States were the primary
care-givers for their grandkids. That number is probably higher now.
What has happened, folks? When I was a young Mom, family members would help
out with babysitting, but it was our job to raise our children.
How have so many parents lost their way and end up abdicating their responsibilities for their children?
Some grandparents
are raising their grandchildren because their children are on drugs. In
many cases, children are birthing children and no one wants to take responsibility.
Another thing comes to mind. Most families today have two working parents.
Because of the high cost of living, often Grandma and Grandpa help watch the
children. The question follows: do both parents really have to work outside
the home to support the family? In many cases, yes. But in some, perhaps the
reason is selfishness. Too much media telling too many folks that they can
have it now, with only so many "easy" payments.
When I was a single Mom, I often found myself using a credit card to buy stuff we really didn't need, because I didn't want my girls to feel like they were lacking anything. But those payments pile up…
I have some friends whose grown-up children are so spoiled it is hard to be around them, but because Mom had it tough as a child herself, she could never say no.
Can it be that when times get tough and our kids don't know how to survive, they run and leave the grandparents with the biggest responsibilities of raising their precious children?
I Corinthians 13:13 says: "and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
So, hats off to all the wonderful grandparents who are rallying and raising a new generation. But we need to keep asking ourselves the question, why couldn't the parents love their children enough to keep them? Putting God back in our lives is number one. Have a great month!
I love ya,
Kathy
Kathy Thomas is the director of Woman to Woman Ministries of Tucson, dedicated to the encouragement and healing of women, which airs a weekly radio program on KGMS 940 AM every Sat. at 2 pm. and on cable television Wed. at 3 p.m. on channels 72 and 97 and Fri.at 5 p.m. on channels 73 and 98. email Kathy at hooperandhonker@msn.com.
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
