When you tell your grandchildren your stories—both good and bad—their hearts will knit to yours.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Telling your stories may make you feel vulnerable, especially if some of those stories don’t paint you in the best light. But when you honestly divulge how God has transformed you, He is glorified. And your real stories will equip your grandchildren to trust in Christ amidst the highs and lows of life.
“Grandpa, tell me ’bout the good old days,” is a line in an old country song I heard as a child. That particular chorus stirred in me a sense of loss, wishing for grandparents who could tell me their stories from days gone by.
My parents were teenagers when I was born, praise God they chose life. They got married and began their new life away from both of their families. There were lots of reasons why they elected to raise their children away from both sets of parents, but suffice it to say, my parent’s decision was a healthy one for our upbringing.
However, with that separation came a longing to know my grandparents’ stories, to somehow find out more about myself by learning their history. Maybe that’s one reason I regularly tell our stories to our 15 grandchildren.
Recently, my adolescent granddaughter asked how her papa and I met. I happily described every detail including all the feelings that came with our real-life romance. There are many reasons why I love recounting our love story.
For one, I want my grandkids to know how deeply I love their Papa. Children find great security in knowing that their parents and grandparents are lovingly committed to their spouse. I also want my grandkids to realize how much God’s providence was involved in our love story, so they will learn to trust God to help them find a godly mate when it is time.
Rehearsing how we met is one of many stories we recount. Sometimes they’re interested, sometimes not so much. As a grandparent, you may think your grands don’t have time to listen. But even if they seem uninterested, tell them anyway. Your stories have value if you tell them in a way that brings glory to Christ. That being said, let’s take a moment to highlight reasons we should tell our stories.
God created us to connect through stories and it’s important to tell your grandkids stories. A story can move a person from apathy to action. The stories Jesus told grab our attention and motivate us to care. The concepts that we learn in word pictures become a part of us.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord regularly instructed His people to tell it to your children. For example, in Joshua chapter four, when God parted the rushing waters of the Jordan River so the people could pass through to the Promised Land, He instructed Joshua to take 12 stones from the river to build an altar of remembrance: “That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’” (See Joshua 4:1-9).
Imagine how cool it would have been to see God holding back the river so the people could finally cross over into the land they’d been promised. The children who were there had likely heard their parent’s and grandparents’ stories of how God parted the Red Sea when He delivered them from Egypt. Oh, how their faith must have been bolstered when they observed God’s intervention again on their behalf.
Since people forget the highlights of God’s faithfulness, God instructs us to recount His steadfastness in our stories. Psalm 103:2 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” If you’ve never done so, determine to gather stones of remembrance from your own history.
Ask God to help you remember stories of His faithfulness and be prepared to share them with your family. Whether you’re gathering in person or virtually with your grandkids, make the interaction special and memorable by the stories you will share.
When our ranch recently burned amidst the California Wild Fires, our grandchildren prayed and celebrated with us when God protected our house. We also used that time as an opportunity to tell them how we came to purchase our ranch in the mountains.
More than 30 years ago, God led us to eliminate our debt by selling our big house in the city to buy our rural land. I went into animated detail of how our friends thought we were crazy when we moved three small children into our one bedroom “tiny house.” They are surprised to learn how the only power we had was a generator. I laughingly make sure they realize what a sacrifice Nana made, because it was during the “big hair styles” of the 1980s and I had to curl my hair with a butane curling iron.
But the point of the story is not just so they can recall how crazy their grandparents were back in the day. Rather, as we share, we tell them of God’s providence in our adventure by rehearsing how Papa’s resolve to become debt-free would later make him available to accept the pastoral position in our small church with little budget, a church where he has now pastored for 25 years.
Lots of what’s going on in our world right now is confusing. In your many years of life, this is not the first time you’ve faced circumstances that don’t make sense. However, in your grand’s short lives, it’s possible this is the first time they’ve heard their parents talking about these uncertain times.
Rather than listing all that frustrates, scares, or confuses you, make a concerted effort to rehearse stories from your past that demonstrate God’s faithfulness when you courageously trusted in Him when life didn’t make sense.
For example, when our son was six years old, he began having severe seizures. The convulsions were so serious he was heavily medicated. One day, when I’d had enough, I told God if He wouldn’t heal my son, I no longer wanted to serve Him in ministry. Immediately His Word came to mind, “In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
As I share this story with my grandkids, I recount how I asked God to forgive me for not trusting Him. In turn, He gave me a thankful heart. And then I tell the kids how God used their daddy’s childhood disability to prepare him to grow up to become a worship pastor, because God’s ways are good and higher than ours (see Isaiah 55:9).
Bonding with our grandkids earns you the right to speak into their lives.
Your life experiences may give you wisdom to share, but if you’re not connecting with your grandkids, they’re likely not open to your advice. When you tell your grandchildren your stories—both good and bad—their hearts will knit to yours, and they will be more apt to listen to your biblical worldview.
Psalm 145:4 says, “One generation shall praise Your works to another…” Let it be said of us that our hearts belonged to Jesus and that we rehearsed all of His benefits in this generation—beginning with our own grandchildren.
Drawing upon 35 years of experience as a mentor, pastor’s wife, and homeschool mom, Rhonda Stoppe offers encouragement and guidance to women as an author, humorist, and public speaker. She is popularly known as the “No Regrets Woman,” as she is passionate about helping women live life without regrets. Rhonda hosts the Old Ladies Know Stuff podcast. Her books include Moms Raising Sons to Be Men, Real Life Romance, and The Marriage Mentor, which she co-authored with her husband, Steve. The couple resides in northern California and has four grown children and 15 grandchildren. You can learn more about Rhonda at her website, NoRegretsWoman.com.
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