Why Should I Get to Know My Grandparents

A Source of Wisdom and Advice

Many young people have discovered that grandparents can serve as a shelter during the stormy years of youth.  Seventeen magazine observed:  "With decades of experience in living, they are often more helpful in dealing with problems  than friends your age, who are struggling with the same concerns you are. You and your peers are in the throes of your first life transitions; your grandparents  have weathered many such passages.  They are often wise as well as smart."  This advice merely echoes what the Bible said centuries ago, namely:  "Gray-headedness is a crown of beauty when it is found in the way of righteousness."-Proverbs 16:31.  

True, your grandparents may have grown up in a world quite different from the one in which you  now live.  But you can be sure that at one time or another, they have felt the very same feelings that you are struggling with now. While you still be relatively inexperienced in handling such feelings, your grandparents have had a lifetime in which to come to terms with them. (Proverbs  1:4) "Is there not wisdom among the aged and understanding the length of days?" asked the righteous man Job. (Job 12:12) Yes, and for that reason grandparents can often be a real asset when a youth needs some balanced advice, encouragement, or support. 

Young Damaris' grandmother, for example, lived with Damaris and her mother in the same urban apartment.  "When my mother and I had trouble communicating,"  Damaris recalled, "Grandmom helped us work things out. She would show me a different way of looking at things."

Alexandria has a similar experience when her family moved and she had to change schools.  "My new teacher was hard and occasionally lost her temper," Alexandria said.  Adjusting to her new school was therefore difficult for Alexandria. However, her grandmother proved to be an ally.  She helped Alexandria  to adjust by encouraging a more positive outlook toward the situation.  "Now I like school and my teacher," says Alexandria.  

A young man in Brazil named Rafael reflects on the help that his grandparents gave him when he received some supplementary education after high school:  "They gave me much council about association and how to resist problems with drugs." Rafael now serves as a full-time evangelizer. 

In her book, Grandparents in a Changing World, Eda LeShan relates her own experience as a grandparent. She writes:  "My granddaughter called me one day and said: 'Grandma, I need help with peer pressure.'  Some of her classmates were trying to get her to date boys, some of whom were calling her on the phone." As a result of her granddaughter's request for help, the grandmother was able to offer assistance.  You may similarly find that a brief conversation with a loving grandparent can be a source of real moral support. 

Grandparents are often particularly helpful  during time of family crisis, such as illness or death. After young Lacy lost her father to a serious illness, her grandmother helped her cope.  "We have bonded even more than ever before," says Lacy.

Next time: Why Should I Get to Know My Grandparents -A Special Bond of Love

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