September is widely recognized as Grandparents Month, with the actual Grandparents Day having taken place Sept. 7. The emphasis is on a time to honor the love, wisdom, and guidance passed down through generations.
Traditionally, Grandparents Day is celebrated as a tribute to the endless devotion of grandparents, who are often portrayed as perfect, ever-patient, and unconditionally loving role models. Yet, it is important to remember that grandparents, too, are human. They carry their own flaws, struggles, and mistakes – both past and present.
The only flawless example we are called to follow is God Himself, through His Son Jesus Christ. While we may never fully reach His perfection, we can strive toward it – not only for our own salvation, but also for the sake of our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and generations to come.
This September, my husband Tom and I were asked to share our reflections on the meaning of legacy as grandparents. Perhaps it was fitting, given our years of life experience.
At the end of August, we were blessed to visit South Dakota – a trip deeply intertwined with American heritage. Heritage, as defined, is what we inherit: cultural traditions, historic treasures like Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, the Black Hills, and the Badlands, and the personal histories that shape us. Walking those landscapes, we felt the presence of our nation’s legacy – especially the lasting imprint of Native American communities. Legacy, after all, is “the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, or a person’s life.”
That journey to South Dakota made me think about the legacy my husband and I are leaving. Not only to our children, but especially to our grandchildren. I say “especially” because it was only later in life – after our children were already young adults – that we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.
For many families, grandparents beautifully grew with each new generation and had many wonderful memories and experiences to leave as their legacy to their children and grandchildren. But for families like ours, the picture is more complicated. Our story includes divorce, separation, and painful chapters. So how can grandparents leave a Godly legacy when the past holds such difficult memories?
One source describes grandparents as “those who provide unconditional love and a comforting presence, creating a strong sense of belonging and security for grandchildren. They serve as family historians, sharing stories, traditions, and cultural heritage that enrich a grandchild’s sense of identity and connection to their roots.” But what happens when those roles have not always been lived out?
Psalm 127 offers an answer. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep to those he loves. Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.”
When my husband and I married, we entered a blended family. My children were already grown – and angry. They had not been raised in the admonition of Christ, and so they had no place to lay down their pain and frustrations. My husband’s daughter was only three, too young to understand the upheaval.
But God was not finished with us. Together we prayed, repented, and invited Him into our hearts, our marriage, our children’s lives, and our grandchildren’s lives. We clung to Ecclesiastes 4:12: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”The three strands – husband, wife, and God – represent unity, strength, and the ability to overcome challenges together.
Over time, our families witnessed transformation. We met with our adult children and asked forgiveness, especially for raising them without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Reconciliation was not instant; it took years. But today, by the grace of God, we are a family. Our testimony is simple: left to ourselves, we were unable. But with God, all things are possible. As Ephesians 3:20 declares, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Amen!
Now, all of our children and grandchildren have received Christ as their Savior. What greater prayer could we have had? They have witnessed sin, repentance, restoration, and the unchanging love of the Gospel.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth,” 3 John 4.
We are especially grateful for the second chance the Lord gave us in raising my husband’s daughter. We brought her up in a Christian home, with His Word at the center. Today she is raising her own children in the same way, spared from the difficulties she once knew.
So, when Tom and I were asked to write about grandparenting – there was a pause as to how we would convey our story. I pray many will be blessed by the Lord’s redemptive love and restoration that only He can give in their lifetimes.
None of this would have ever happened had we not turned to Jesus. What we did and what we believed was necessary in the mending of brokenness in our family. We needed to do everything God’s way – take His Word seriously and appropriate what He says in His Word to our lives as much as we could every day. We had already failed doing it our way, in our own strength, and in our own power. We realized that we had to turn our failures over to God – and trust Him.
As expressed in Joel 2:25-26: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
Grandparenting, then, is a unique season. It grants time we often lacked as parents, and wisdom we may not have had in younger years. Every family carries a legacy – whether good or bad, it will remain. Our prayer is that ours may be one of faith.
The South Dakota trip reminded me of this truth. I was moved by the history of our nation, yet grieved by the hardships endured by Native American families. Still, their legacy endures – a testimony of love, resilience, and devotion to family. Their story echoes the truth I began with: legacy is the lasting impact of our choices, actions, and lives.
We have many grandchildren, and now two great-grandchildren. We pray they will remember the good above the hard. But most of all, we pray that in every season they will seek the Lord, remain faithful to His Word, and pass down His grace and mercy to their own children. For only in Him can our brokenness be mended, our years restored, and our legacy made whole.