Last week as we drove across the bridge in town, my kids squealed with delight as they took turns guessing when all the ice would be off the lake. We searched around our neighborhood for the handiwork of our Creator as He began to unfold to us a masterpiece in each bud of the crocuses that peeked out of the cold hard ground. Mother robin prompted them onward as the treasure hunt to find her secret began. Discovering the home for her babies presented yet another invitation to more wonder as the process of life would soon unfold in the treasure of bright blue eggs and eventually babies in the coming days.
Without fail, my kids’ hearts are captivated by this process each year! They eagerly watch for the “first living things” to come back from the harsh white stillness and relish being the one to announce the discovery at our next family meal. Growing up as a young girl, this process of springtime creation surprises was something I enjoyed most with my grandmas.
The wonder they had in the natural world taught me how to worship and know God as Creator and King of the Universe. Whenever I brought a friend up to our family cabin in northern Minnesota, I knew that they too would see the reverence and awe my grandparents had for the living God and His creation. The spiritual influence of my grandparents didn’t just impact me and my friends, but the young people in their churches as well. Through mentoring relationships in various ministries, they participated in, they left a spiritual legacy that went far beyond their own bloodlines. At their funerals it was clear to see that they had many more “grandchildren” than their obituaries named.
In Psalm 78, we see a command from the Lord to “teach the next generation the praiseworthy deeds, power and wonders of our God.” In the text, the Father addresses the reader as “My people” which demonstrates His call to each believer in the family of God. We see that if we are a child of God, we are also a spiritual mother or father, regardless of whether or not we are related to the young people in our lives.
The Lord commanded this teaching of His attributes and storyline of Scriptures as a way of future generations to know His goodness, faithfulness, and provision. The text goes on in verse seven to show us the Father’s desire for all to “put their trust in Him and not forget His deeds, but to keep his commands.”
In a world where grandparents live thousands of miles away from their grandchildren and where divorce separates children from their parents, how do we fulfill this command from the Lord? As soon as sin entered the world, brokenness in family relationships began and still continue today. Distant parenting and abandonment are heartbreaking realities that children face every single day.
Yet despite the severed relationships that exist in so many family genealogies, we see the echo of eternity through adoption and through spiritual mothers and fathers investing in children and grandchildren that are not their own flesh and blood.
With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day fast approaching, we come face to face with the tension that exists between relationships among the generations. In the family of God, we can find hope, healing, and redemption.
Just as my own grandparents invested in “church grandkids” in their own churches, I’ve seen quite a few do that here at Friendship. Have you seen them in action yet? Are you one of them?
It’s easy to spot these spiritual fathers and mothers in action, they are always busy nurturing, serving and loving the younger generation. If you don’t know their immediate family, it’s hard to tell who is a part of it because they love people in and out of their family so well that you cannot easily tell the difference.
Over at the Prior Lake Campus, “Grandma Lynne” knits hurting hearts of teenagers back together with hugs just as beautifully as she creates scarves and hats. When “Grandma Heidi” pushes the stroller of a cooing baby you might think this precious infant is her own granddaughter. Yet these women love young ones that they are not related to as they point them to Christ with the same devotion as a blood relative might do.
If we took every day in the month of May from morning til night, we wouldn’t have enough time to share all the stories of the countless investments that spiritual mothers and fathers have made in impacting Friendship’s young people to know the love of Christ Jesus. “Grandma Kathy’s” welcoming smile and “Grandma Sharon’s” listening ears aren’t just for their own grandkids but for anyone who needs to feel the love of the Father through the affection of a real person.
The Shakopee Campus is no different! “Mama Peggy’s” revolving front door welcomes the feet of teens looking for a place to learn and grow. Spiritual mothering and grandmothering looks like “Abuela Becky” registering kids for sports and praying for their healing. It’s the face of the same Sunday School teacher each week sharing the stories of His faithfulness and the comforting arms gently rocking babies while hymns are sung over them in the nursery.
When you have a heart for spiritual parenting, it doesn’t matter if you carried babies in your own womb or carried them in your heart as they grew in someone else’s womb. The story of redemption and restoration beckons us to share with future generations whether they are in our immediate family or not! This Mother’s Day, my prayer for you is that you would see God’s handiwork in the intricate weaving of the relational connections He has formed between the generations here at Friendship Church.
As you look for the miracles of life this spring in creation and in our church, I want to encourage you to ask yourself these three questions:
- Who in my church family needs a spiritual mom or dad?
- How can I encourage or pray for someone who is obeying the call to invest in the lives of the next generation?
- Is there someone the Father wants me to invest in?
I pray that the Holy Spirit will give us eyes to see these young people that need a spiritual mother or father. Whether we end up being the ones who get the privilege of investing in their lives directly or whether we encourage others that are serving in that role, we can all play a part in the story God is writing to redeem His children and draw each one into the loving family He has created. With the blood of Christ, we never lack anything that our own bloodlines have not been able to provide. His blood has given each of us the opportunity to belong to a family with a legacy that is better than we could ever choose for ourselves!
Jessica Johnson
Jessica Johnson graduated from Flagler College with a double major in Latin American Studies/Spanish and a minor in Youth Ministry. She has served as a women’s ministry and homeschool speaker, event planner and in youth and children’s ministry throughout the last twenty years. Along with her husband Jeremy and their six homeschooled kids, they fill their days with food, fun, nature and lots of books!