A new wave of despair crashes over you as you encounter the latest development in youth culture—the new pop song on the radio or another statistic about how young people are leaving the Church.
Should you be surprised at your reaction? Probably not. But despair is the wrong response. Hope, that mysterious Christian virtue, is what’s needed instead.
What is hope? It’s not optimism, nor is it wishing. I can be optimistic about the University of Michigan football team beating Ohio State. Or I can wish for the opposite, but this doesn’t guarantee a win either way.
Hope has many shades of meaning, but one effect of hope is motivation, the certainty that is based on the reliable pledge of Jesus Christ. More than a pleasant disposition, hope is assurance, and rightly placed hope does not disappoint us.
All grandparents want the best for their grandchildren. Unfortunately, our grandchildren can make bad choices. If one of them decides not to follow the Lord or is leading an immoral life, it can be devastating. Yet, it is in exactly these times that we need hope—real hope!
Hope reminds us that the Lord’s love for our grandchildren far exceeds our own, that he has not abandoned them, that he will do everything to win them back, and that he will never dismiss our prayers for them. This hope doesn’t fail.
How can grandparents guard their hope? First, by remembering that all Christians, sinners and saints, have some good as well as some bad chapters in their lives. Look at Peter, Paul, Francis of Assisi, and John Newton: if we had seen any of them at the wrong time, we might have written them off as cowards, murderers, cheats, and liars. But the Lord rescued them.
Second, reflect on your own life. Look at how merciful Jesus Christ has been to you. He has never abandoned you. God has a good track record!
One of the main aims of Grandly is to inspire hope in grandparents. Hopeful, strategic grandparents make a big difference. Grandly wants to help every grandparent take a deep breath and say, “Yes, I can.”
Pili Galván is the Program Director of Grandly: The Strategic Grandparents Club
Copyright © 2016 Grandly – The Strategic Grandparents Club.