Back in 2015, the Lord revealed some verses to me which helped prepare me for some very special times I had with my grandchildren this summer. Psalms 71:16-19 reads, I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also, when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not: until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
Since God revealed these scriptures to me, my heart’s desire is to show His power and strength to this generation, the generation which my grandchildren are a part of. I am a grandmother to four wonderful teenagers between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. There is nothing like being a grandmother, and I so value the unique relationship I have with each one of them.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take my grandchildren to the beach, and I immediately looked at this trip as a time to show them God’s power and strength. Before leaving for the trip, I instructed my grandkids to bring their Bibles with them. Proverbs 6:21 reads, Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. I desired to use this time away with my grandchildren as a chance to “write some things on their hearts.”
While at the beach, we began and ended our days in God’s Word. In the mornings, we read from our Bibles, shared scriptures with one another, gave prayer requests, and prayed together. In the evenings, we spent time sharing things that transpired during the day in which we saw God’s goodness and provision. I shared with them how Proverbs 6:21 is a verse I used for my children, and now, I’m praying over them. I explained to them how when we are in God’s Word, we are writing these things on our hearts, and like Proverbs 6:22 tells us, these things will “lead thee, keep thee, and talk with thee.”
Throughout the past year, I’ve been privileged to associate with two ministers who have great vision for reaching this generation. While attending one of their meetings, they shared some very startling statistics regarding what teenagers are experiencing and being exposed to today.
- 1 out of 4 young people suffers from depression.
- Every day 500 students start using drugs.
- Every day 1,000 students begin drinking alcohol.
- 9 out of 10 boys and 6 out of 10 girls are exposed to pornography before the age of 18.
- Each year in the U.S. over 750,000 adolescent girls become pregnant.
- 9.5 million new infections (STDs) occur each year among young people ages 15 to 24.
- The average amount of media consumed each day among students ages 8 to 18 is 7.5 hours a day.
- 40% of young people have inflicted self injury.
- Fatherlessness has become an epidemic among the American teenager.
- Bullying and suicide continues to grow among the American teenager.
Upon hearing these statistics, I immediately thought of my four grandchildren, and I asked God for the opportunity to speak with them about some of these things. This opportunity presented itself this summer while at the beach.
Due to the nature of some of these topics, some of our conversations started out uncomfortably, yet I pressed through, and we had some open and transparent conversations. They spoke honestly about things they knew, they asked questions, and they even would go a little deeper into some of the topics. My heart was so full of gratitude to God for allowing me to have these close, intimate conversations with all of my grandchildren.
As I think back on this beach trip, I’m so thankful for the time spent with my grandchildren. We laughed, cried, played, and made so many special memories. As we headed home from our trip, they all told me their favorite part of the trip was our family meetings, our time centered around God’s Word. It so blessed me to hear this, because as a grandmother, I was thrilled to write some things on their hearts before another school year begins.
I encourage you to take this next generation seriously. Recognize opportunities to write upon the hearts of young people. Seize these opportunities as this upcoming school year approaches. Remember that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy…this is his mission for our children, but he does not have the final word. WE DO!