Challenges Produce Growth in Grandchildren

By Lillian Penner

What a joy it is to have that precious little grandchild come running into your arms with hugs and kisses—the six-year–old calling to tell you she lost her first tooth, your teenage grandson calling to ask if he can come over to visit, or your seven-year-old grandchild, excited about making three goals in his soccer game.

 Unconditional Love Wants to Protect

Grandparents love their grandchildren unconditionally. We want to protect them from pain, disappointment, or discouragement. They face many trials and challenges: a friend hurting their feelings, not making the soccer team, a big test in school, or the loss of a job. It does not matter if they are preschoolers, teenagers, or adults; they all face challenges.

The love we have for them wants to protect them, keep them from pain, disappointment, or discouragement. Humanly, we want to rescue them by praying, “Don’t let anything bad happen to them.” However, the Lord may say, “I need to allow disappointment, pain, and failure because I want them to learn to trust me when they are afraid, troubled, or discouraged so I can pour my blessings on them.” The Lord has given us a promise to remember when we go through difficult times that we can share with our grandchildren. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NLT).

Challenges Promote Character

God may allow challenging situations in the lives of our grandchildren for a purpose. Trials and challenges are inevitable; they may be God’s invitation to develop character and grow in their spiritual lives. Our grandchildren must learn to expect them, submit to them, and learn from them. The challenges they face each day are not meant to destroy them. They are designed to make them stronger spiritually, develop character, and make them capable of fulfilling their God-given assignments. Suffering creates an environment where they can see the true nature of their dependency on God. Pain brings us all to the place where we must acknowledge something greater than ourselves. It comes down to whether we believe God and are willing to trust Him in the midst of our challenges and pain. As grandparents, let us not hinder their growth by not allowing them to go through their challenging situations.

David writes, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for my life” (Psalm 138:8). He had confidence in the Lord’s perfect plan, even though there were many difficult and challenging times in his journey. God has created each of our grandchildren for a unique purpose and given us the awesome opportunity to be their grandparents, partnering with Him on their behalf with our prayers.

Ask God to help your grandchildren:

 Learn to expect, submit to, and learn from their trials and challenges.

 Learn to trust the Lord when they are afraid or troubled.

 Learn to cast all their anxieties on the Lord because He cares for them.

Understand and accept their God-given assignments.

Be motivated to pursue those assignments.

Trust Him to provide the resources to fulfill their assignments.

Lillian Penner is the author of Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren in English and Spanish. She has been on staff with the Christian Grandparenting Network prayer ministry for fourteen years, developing prayer cards, grandparents@Prayer groups, and the Grandparenting Day of Prayer. She has a passion for praying intentionally for her grandchildren and desires to share that passion with other grandparents.

An avid blogger, Lillian breaks into smiles if you ask about her thirteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She and her husband, John, live in Portland, Oregon, where they are active in church ministries. They were both raised in Christian homes and desire to pass their godly heritage to their future generations. She and her husband enjoy traveling, Southern Gospel music but most of all, enjoy spending time with their family.

Feature Image by Beth Lowell from Pixabay