Proverbs 17:6 says, “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.” If you follow my blog or podcast, you may have already heard that last December Tina and I became grandparents for the first time. I’d like you to meet the first jewel in our grand-parenting crown.
This is our grandson, Patton Douglas Dillard. He’s the newest member of Team K, in the more recently established Dillard Division.
In so many ways we feel re-born and renewed by this amazing little man. It has been striking to us how much love one new life can bring into your heart and family. All of Team K is crazy in love with you buddy!
So Much Fun!
I recently bought a little plaque that says, “If I knew grandkids were this much fun I would have had them first.” It’s so true! We are having a blast with our new pal here.
I am not only grateful for my new grandson, I like to call him by his nickname, Chip, but I am also grateful for the fact that God has granted us the ability to enjoy having this new life in ours.
A friend of mine, author David McDonald, says, “The added dimension [to enjoying your new grandson] is to be grateful that you are permitted to enjoy the good things in life, not just to have them…”
In other words, it is one thing to have a new child or grandchild; it is another to be grateful that we get to enjoy that blessing. Not everyone can or does. Too often children are seen as a burden, or a problem to be dealt with for the next 18 years.
Grateful that we can enjoy this new life!
We have been savoring this little boy we have in our life, as well as the ability to enjoy having him. Both are gifts from God, and we are grateful for both.
Ok, back to Proverbs 17:6 for a moment, “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged”. I think most of us would agree, especially if you already have grandchildren, with this statement from John Kitchen’s commentary on this passage, he says,
“The elderly man finds a ‘crown’ of reward and honor in being surrounded by grandchildren; his life has mattered, it continues on, in a sense, through succeeding generations. He has not only raised up godly sons and daughters, but he has raised them to raise up the same kind of children. There is hope for the future!”
I love that.
But we should not miss that the relationship mentioned in Proverbs 17:6 flows in both directions. It goes on, saying, “the glory of the children is their fathers.” Author Kitchen adds, “Nothing so adorns children, and brightens their lives, like godly fathers and mothers.”
Enjoy and Live as a Blessing
So enjoy your grandkids. Express the joy you have in being a grandparent. Live in such a way that your children enjoy having you as their parents, and as grandparents to their kids. Ask God to show you how to live and serve them in a way that shows his glory–what he is really like–as well.
That’s all I’ve got to say on this for now. I wanted you to meet little Patton, and I wanted to express how grateful Tina and I are for our daughter Christin and her husband Daniel. The next best time to be grateful that you get to enjoy the blessings that grandchildren can bring is now.
And to our son Caesar and his wife Mari, we are ready to start enjoying another jewel in our crown as soon as possible!
Tell me about your grandchildren and how they’ve changed your life.
