Grandparents In the Gaps | Russell Shaw | CWR
The universal rule for conscientious grandparents is: Do what you can, and don’t blame yourself for what you can’t
I’m not a big fan of clever tee-shirts imprinted with smart-alecky sayings, but not long ago I saw one that caught my fancy. It read: “I was an okay parent, but I’m a helluva grandparent.” With Grandparents Day coming up on Sunday, September 7, that’s worth thinking about.
Of course Grandparents Day is one of those artificial festivals celebrated largely by the greeting card industry. But this relatively recent annual observance nevertheless does serve to call a bit of attention to a largely underappreciated group that deserves it.
Especially now. The widespread breakdown of marriage and the rise of single parenting in these latter days have frequently shifted responsibility for the raising of grandkids to the bent but willing shoulders of grandparents. Even those with a less hands-on model of grandparenting are sometimes called on to fill parenting gaps that will otherwise go unfilled.
Here, then, are a few thoughts for granddads and grandmas facing or likely to face these late-in-life demands. They take for granted a fairly high level of agreement on fundamentals between the grandparents and a child’s parent or parents. Where that’s lacking, grandma and granddad may not be able to do very much. The universal rule for conscientious grandparents is: Do what you can, and don’t blame yourself for what you can’t.
Start with the fact that Christian families in today’s America live surrounded by a secular culture in many ways hostile to the values of their faith. When all is said and done, the only solution is for each such family—in cooperation with other, like-minded families, if they can be found—become a miniature counter-culture rooted in the values of the gospel.
Religious writing often describes the family as a domestic church. It’s a beautiful thought. But what I’m suggesting is something different:
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