Pass It On

Pass It On

A little backstory to put this narrative in perspective. Our daughter, son-in-law, and their two small children live with us. It’s a great situation, especially being able to hang out with two of our seven grandkids. Ok, enough bragging and on to the story…

Monday night is small group night for my daughter and son-in-law, who are both in their early thirties. They invite other young adults over to the house, eat dinner, and build relationships for a couple of hours. They are the oldest of all the couples by about six-eight years, which gives them a unique opportunity to do some mentoring. My wife and I contribute by babysitting the grandkids in other rooms so they can have as much uninterrupted time as possible. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Tonight (Monday), my wife had the two grandkids with her on the other side of the house while I worked on some things in our bedroom and the small group met in the breakfast room. Our bedroom is just off the entrance and breakfast room, so I could hear most of the conversation as it progressed.

I picked up the conversation as it turned toward raising children. Our grandkids are eight years old and nine months old. By contrast, most of the other couples either don’t have children yet or have very young kids.

As I listened, I realized that the younger couples were pumping our kids for information and wisdom because they are about five-seven years ahead of the rest of them in raising kids. The more I listened, the prouder I got as to where our kids are and how they are using their opportunity to pour a little bit of what they’ve learned into the lives of their friends. They told stories of potty-training, explosive diapers, and much more; all the while laughing at their own missteps along the way.

Do they realize that they are mentoring their friends? Yes, but I’m not sure it’s a conscious thing on their part. They are simply using the opportunity that God has given them to pour what they’ve learned into their friend’s lives.

They are building their legacy by discipling others. It isn’t a formal Bible study or a preaching time, it’s just a time of letting God speak through them. Formal Bible studies and times of preaching are absolutely necessary but so are these times of fellowship.

Passing on what you’ve learned from God isn’t really all that hard. Just be the man or woman that God has created you to be. Talk about your successes and also your failures. Let others learn from both. Be intentional and pass it on.