Grandparents

https://odb.org/MY/2023/05/18/grandmother-research

It is a common perception in Malaysia that if we leave our children to be taken care of by their grandparents, they will be spoilt. In other words, overly loved. Zero chance of abuse and neglect but 100% likelihood of too much caring and love. It is thus good and bad, but nowadays, as most parents are working to make ends meet, this situation is pretty much unavoidable. There are babysitters we can send our children to, but our family homes will always be the preferred choice if available.

I think one of the reasons why grandparents dot on their grandchildren is that they see it as their renewed chance of parenting. Most didn’t have that opportunity when they first raised their own children as they were busy working. When they were parents, they could have left their children to be cared for by their own parents or babysitters, and thus, now that they are retired and are grandparents, they get to relive those moments they missed when their own children were growing up. Also, I think grandparents are less concerned about character building of their grandchildren (perhaps they think that should be the responsibility of the parents) and thus will likely not want to see their grandchildren learn anything the “hard” way. Grandparents will tend to “facilitate” the learning process more than parents.

It is thus interesting to know from Zephaniah 3:17 that the LORD takes great delight in us. Zephaniah is one of the less known prophetic books in the bible, a minor prophet, and yet speaks of God’s delight in His people, His children, a picture, I think most will have trouble imagining. To many of us, as much as we are now able to interact with God, He is still like a headmaster, making sure we are all good and obedient and do as instructed. Although we know that God shares in our joys and sorrows, we are less inclined to think of Him like our grandfather.

I never knew my paternal grandfather as he had passed away just before I was born. My maternal grandfather was kind and loving but passive when it came to the many grandchildren he had. When young, we always ran to him to give us a dime or two to buy some sweets or snacks. Other than that, he was not much involved in our lives.

Our Heavenly Father is like a grandfather to us, not a headmaster. He is overly loving and caring and may even spoil us. That is why, as much as He is a disciplinarian and may discipline us, He gives us many chances to repent and return to Him. He is most happy when we are doing well in Him. He takes delight in our achievements and progress in Him as we allow ourselves not to conform to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. He will make all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Do not be afraid. Return to Him if we have strayed. Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son taught by our Lord Jesus? God is just waiting for us to return so He may throw us a feast and give us new robes and a new ring to wear.