5 Godly Lessons My Grandparents Left Behind
Grandparenting
Audio By Carbonatix
By Vivian Bricker, Crosswalk.com
My grandparents passed away a long time ago. Through time with them and stories from my mom, I learned many important things from their lives. Laughter, smiles, and lessons all interwove together to form a beautiful story of my grandparents' lives. Even though they are no longer alive, their stories continue on through me and my sister.
Unlike most people, I never had two sets of grandparents. My paternal grandparents passed away before I was born, a sad reality many people can relate to in their own lives. Whether you have one or two sets of grandparents, I challenge you to write down a few lessons you learned or are learning from them. They can be hard lessons or lighter ones.
After you record them, keep them safe in a folder or a journal. In this way, you can reflect on these beautiful lessons in the future. Not many of us are given much time with our grandparents, but we can preserve their memory through lessons and stories. This is exactly what I have done; it ensures their memories live on.
Below are five lessons from my grandparents. These lessons might teach you something new, or you might find comfort in the similarities between my grandparents and your own.
1. It Is Always Right to Help Others
My grandma always taught me the importance of helping others. Even if it was hard or a grueling experience, we are always supposed to help others. When my grandma was in high school, she met a girl whose family didn't have much money. Due to their financial state, this girl often wore the same outfit every day. My grandma even said she wore a potato sack multiple days to school (take note, this would have been in the early 1950s, but it is still odd, I'll admit).
Due to wearing the same unclean clothes and potato sacks, kids at school would make fun of her. My grandma saw this happening and decided she was going to help this girl. It's exactly what she did. My grandma brought her to her family's house and gave her some new clothes that no longer fit her. The girl was very thankful for my grandma's kindness, and they became friends.
My grandma taught me that it is always right to help others, especially those who are being picked on. I have tried to live in conformity to this teaching as I know the pain of being bullied. It is a beautiful blessing when someone steps in and helps someone else. It has the ability to change the person's life for the better.
No matter what you are facing right now, choose to help others. It is always right, even if it might be hard. Even if no one at your school or workplace is being bullied, it is still right to help others. Maybe your neighbor just recently went through a divorce, or a family member was evicted from their home. Choose to help them and be the hands and feet of Jesus. The Lord will see your kindness, and it will bring Him great joy.
2. If You Have Nothing Nice to Say, Don't Say Anything at All
A second lesson from my grandparents comes from my grandpa. A teaching he used to say was, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all." This teaching was carried on through my mother, who taught it to my sisters and me. I cannot say how many times this lesson has helped me in my life. Instead of speaking mindlessly, it causes you to think over what you are going to say.
You don't need to say anything if you have nothing nice to say. For example, if someone is mean to us and wants to start a fight, we do not need to acknowledge them. We need to walk away from the situation and take the higher road. Most of the time, when someone wants to start a problem, they will say something to us. We can disengage and walk away.
By doing this, we won't fuel a fire that has already been created. We will be walking in peace, kindness, and love. This is what God wants for us. He doesn't want us to say hurtful things to others, even if they are mean to us first. We are to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-48).
3. Don't Have Anything to Do with Mean People
Another lesson from my grandpa is that it is not wise to be around mean people. Mean people will only corrupt us and make us as mean as they are. My grandpa used to recite the saying, "one bad apple ruins the tree," and it's true. If we surround ourselves with mean people, it won't be long until we are equally as mean, hateful, and bitter.
Rather than surrounding ourselves with mean people, we need to be around kind, gentle, and peaceful people. The Bible tells us, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm" (Proverbs 13:20). We need to walk with the wise rather than with a companion of fools. Wise people will impact us positively, whereas fools will negatively impact us.
We don't need to waste our time with mean people. They will only corrupt us and cause problems in our own lives. Even if these people might seem popular or "cool," we don't need to spend time with them. They will lead us away from Jesus and into many bad habits. By choosing to turn away from having these types of people in our lives, we will leave room for good people, who actually care about us and want to help us in our walk with the Lord.
4. Visit Your Loved Ones Any Chance You Get
My mother used to tell my sisters and me a story about our grandma, which my mom always found annoying. However, I found it quite endearing. When my mother was a teen, she worked at various jobs. Grocery stores, department stores, and coffee shops—my mom did it all. While my mom was at her job, my grandma would come to visit her, say hi, ask how she was doing, and buy something from where she was working.
My mom found this embarrassing and irritating because she didn't understand why her mother was there. As it turns out, my grandmother wanted to spend more time with her. She was willing to take any chance she got in order to see her daughter and spend time with her—even if that meant during her shift at work.
Through this teaching, I can see how much my grandma valued her loved ones. She truly wanted to be around them and ensure they felt loved. Even if this lesson was often lost on others, it rings true for me. We need to seize the day and make the most of every opportunity. Instead of growing distant from our loved ones, we need to spend time with them, talk with them, and invest in their lives.
Spending more time with them will help our relationship grow stronger. With time, nothing will be able to break our relationship with this family member, friend, or spouse because we chose to truly invest in their lives. Choose to do this today, visit your loved one, and be intentional in their lives. We are not promised forever with our loved ones, but we do have the beautiful gift of the present day.
5. Each Day Is a Reason to Have Joy
A final lesson from my grandparents comes from both of them. While they were two different people, they both lived joyful lives. They had different ways of showing their joy, but both believed each day was a reason to have it. Whether you were joyful over a beautiful sunny day or getting off for the weekend, there was always a reason to be joyful.
The Lord is good and blesses us with everything we need (2 Corinthians 9:8). Due to the immense joy my grandparents had for life, they never stopped giving thanks in all circumstances. They both loved the Lord and followed Him throughout their lives. With the Lord, they knew they could always have great joy.
Even though both of my grandparents started getting sick around the same time with different illnesses, they still had joy in their hearts for the Lord. My grandma was suffering from cancer, and my grandfather was suffering from Alzheimer's disease; however, they still found joy in each day. Their shared gravestone reads, "Without God, We Are Nothing." May we all hold this same joy and faithfulness to the Lord until the end.
