For the grandparents who are missing milestones and everyday hugs from their grandkids, life is a little longer these days. Today we pray exponentially for a cure and freedom to move about freely again. But in the meantime, we pray for comfort.
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. ‘With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?’” (Isaiah 46:4-5)
“I know if your grandma was here …” my neighbor began to my daughter. Broken fingers wasn’t in her plans this summer, and she was bummed out beyond all cheering up. “But I’m here …” my neighbor continued. And she set a box with 42 things in it, one for each day it would take my daughter to heal. God has been faithful to place people in our lives to comfort and encourage us though our family lives far away.
The day my youngest daughter was born, my parents were out sailing in the middle of the lake. Her long-awaited birthday wasn’t supposed to be for a couple more weeks. “We’re turning around!” I remember them saying, “we’ll be there as soon as we can!” A few years after, they moved half the country away. Not having them close by for the everyday milestone moments has never gotten any easier. My youngest daughter still cries for her Papa sometimes. In a way, we feel like we’ve been training for our time away from them during quarantine. But being used to the way things are doesn’t make it any easier. The few times of year we see them have been delayed and cancelled, and it’s been hard on them and us.
The One-of-a-Kind Love of Grandparents
For the grandparents who are missing milestones and everyday hugs from their grandkids, life is a little longer these days. Today we pray exponentially for a cure and freedom to move about freely again. But in the meantime, we pray for comfort. Our elders are important members of society. They have gone before us and carry wisdom we all need to hear. The love grandparents pour into their grandkids is a special, unique love and bond.
Paul wrote to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in our mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). God places us purposefully in our families and communities. The unique characteristics and personality traits we share allow us to emphasize, understand, and guide one another.
The heart of a grandparent is to share wisdom and love without the anxiety a parent tends to have. Their wisdom and experience create a calm in the chaos of childhood. May we find ways to stay connected to our grandparents during quarantine, and for them to share their wisdom and comfort.
Though quarantine might be keeping some families from traveling long distances to see each other, I’d imagine many of us have people in our neighborhoods and communities who feel like family to us. When we can’t reach people because of quarantine, we can look for others who are close by. The human spirit is resilient.We were made for connection and love.
Grandparents, keep finding ways to love your grandchildren and the adopted ones in your neighborhoods and communities. The wisdom and comfort you have to offer is a blessing! For those who are quarantined to nursing homes and assisted living, our prayer is for the community there to provide comfort and encouragement as we traverse through these difficult times of separation from other people.
A Prayer for a Grandparent’s Heart during Quarantine
Father,
Cancelled. Loneliness. Quarantine. Social Distancing. These are all words and concepts we’ve become familiar with, through ways in which You never intended for us to live. Alone and isolated isn’t the way we were designed to function, and our prayer today is for reentry into the world of connectedness. Help us to move away from fear, but in wisdom, as we find our new normal. Reconnect us, Father. Amplify Your voice above all others, and let Your Truth pierce through the clutter of conversation littering our lives.
For the heart of every grandparent, who longs to hold and cuddle little grandchildren, and pass wisdom on to the older ones, provide comfort. Ease the pain of loneliness, Father, for those who have not been allowed to have any visitors to assisted living and nursing homes. For those who have had to settle for conversations outside the window. Ease the burden on their hearts, and mend the loss of all of the moments and milestones that have been missed. Children have been born during this pandemic whom grandparents have not yet been able to meet. Others have grown into entirely different stages while we’ve all been on lockdown. Disconnectedness from family is painful, lonely, and hard.
Father, we know we are never alone in Christ, but quarantine has isolated us from the other people You have placed in our lives. For families stuck at home together, a support system exists, but for our grandparents who live alone, or far from us, we pray especially for them today. Be their strength, Father. Help them to find creative ways to stay in contact with with grandkids and other family members.
You are our Healer, Father. All motion starts and stops with You. You hold the number of our days in Your hand. When we are impatient and are losing hope, help us to trust in who You are. For grandchildren who are missing their grandparents, provide comfort. Restore the time that has been lost, Lord, the memories that should have been made and the hugs we should have had the opportunity to share. Psalm 27:13-14 says, “I remain confident of of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
Help us to be confident in You, Father, when the world around us feels foreign and uneasy. We pray to focus on Your goodness over our doubts and fears. We will wait on You, Lord. Teach us more of this truth everyday we wake to live. For each day we have breath in our lungs serves a purpose.
Paul wrote to the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). You are the hope that fills us with joy and peace. Help us to seek You first, Father, and trust our lives in Your hands …even though they are far from what many of us had planned.
“I will never leave you or forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5 proclaims. When we feel lonely and forsaken during quarantine, let this verse be written on our hearts. You never leave us. You never forsake us. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done” (Philippians 4:6). Reset our hearts, and help us to sustain the continued silence of quarantine. We pray it breaks soon.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/perfectlab
This article is part of our prayer resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
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