The Lundberg Company

By Rebecca Grace

From AgapePress
September 15, 2006

When it comes to shopping for the perfect pair of prom shoes, not many teen girls would consider their grandmother’s closet their fashion headquarters. But for Kellum sisters Darby, 17, and Tyler, 18, it’s their one-stop shop for shoes, vintage clothing and a whole lot of memories.

“She’s so stylish,” Darby said of her grandmother, Joyce Gravlee, more affectionately known as GG to her five grandchildren and their friends. GG’s house is more than just a fashion hub. It’s an intergenerational haven of biblical mentoring, spiritual discipline, and unconditional love — elements crucial to the development of grandchildren.

Whether the nation’s 56 million grandparents realize it or not, they have the opportunity and blessing to foster relationships with their grandchildren that can be life changing for the entire family.

The Value of Influence
“Grandparents have life experiences that need to be passed on,” said Dennis Rainey, executive director of FamilyLife, in a 2002 radio broadcast. “Your children and your grandchildren are your legacy, and they are a gift from God.”

According to author Morris Massey, as paraphrased by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., in her book titled Generation Me, “our value systems are set in childhood and don’t change much thereafter.”

Therefore, grandparents can influence their grandchildren from birth. How active a role they will play in their grandchildren’s lives is determined through cooperation between grandparents and parents.

“One of my goals as a grandmother is to reinforce the training our grandchildren receive from their parents,” said Sandra Ray, better known by her four grandchildren as Nana. “I think more of our ministry to these children is that we are an extension of their parents,” which involves cultivating a relationship that is grounded in love, discipline, fun and intentional involvement.

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