When Your Kids Still Want You Around

For most of Brad Ryan's life, his grandmother was

almost a stranger. His family had drifted apart over the years,

and Grandma Joy was someone he saw on a holiday, if that. Joy

had spent her whole life in small-town Ohio. She had raised

her kids and kept close to home. By her 80s, she had never seen a

mountain, and she had never even seen the ocean. Most of her days

looked a lot like the day before. Then one day, Brad, now grown,

did something that surprised them both. He called up the

grandmother he barely knew and asked if she wanted to go

camping. She said yes. We'll come back to what that one yes

led to. But

welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger. Our

kids are grown, and they're still close to us. We see them

regularly, and they still want us in their lives. And I don't

take that for granted. I've counseled too many parents whose

kids don't call, and who'd give anything for a Sunday dinner

with a grown child, to ever treat mine as ordinary. Every

time one of them picks up the phone or pulls into the driveway,

I know it's a gift I didn't really earn and can't assume.

This episode is for the parents whose grown kids call, whose

kids text to check in or to make room for you at the table when

they don't have to. If that's you, hear me. That kind of

relationship doesn't come standard. A grown child who

wants you around is choosing you over and over with a life full

of other options. If you have it, some part of you, I believe,

already knows how rare that might be. The apostle John knew

this kind of joy, and he put it in a single sentence. Listen 3

John 4.

That's a strong claim for a man who'd seen a lot of life. When

John says, My children, he mostly means the people he led

to Christ and discipled, his spiritual sons and daughters.

And what fills him with joy is simple. They're walking with God.

He calls that the highest joy he knows. And here's what I want

you to catch. A close relationship with your grown

child is that same kind of joy, and it's easy to let it fade

into the background. When something good becomes familiar,

we sometimes stop seeing it. The calls become routine, and the

visits become normal. A gift that would have stunned you 20

years ago becomes something you barely notice. John refused to

let that joy fade. He called it for what it was. Here's what to

do with the closeness you've been given. First, feel it and

thank God for it. Instead of rushing past a gift he has put

together for you, and then do the thing we so often skip. Tell

your kids in plain words what their nearness means to you. Oh,

they may shrug it off, but say it anyway. People rarely regret

telling someone they love that they matter. Now, let me tell

you where Brad and Joy's story went. That camping trip turned

into another trip, and then another. Brad and Joy started

visiting national parks together, and they didn't stop. Over the

next several years, the grandson and his grandmother made it to

all 63 national parks in the country, finishing when Joy was

93 years old. Along the way, two people had barely known each

other became close. Joy, who had spent decades near home, saw

mountains and the ocean for the first time. And she has said

that these years with her grandson are the best of her

life. Nobody made Brad pick up the phone. He just wandered her

around, and it gave an 85-year-old woman a whole new

life. up the phone. And that's, I believe, something we need to

consider. He just wandered her around, and one phone call

handed an 85-year-old woman a mountain she'd never seen and

the best years of her life. That's the power of somebody

choosing to stay close. If a grown child is doing that for

you, you're holding one of the rare joys a person gets in this

life. Don't let it become background noise. Receive it and

say thank you to God and to them. Here's today's challenge. If you

have an adult child who keeps you in their life, reach out to

them today and tell them how much you appreciate it. You can

keep it simple. Something like, I love that you still want me

around, and it means more to me than you know. Then, thank God

for that relationship. It's one of His good gifts, and it was

never guaranteed. Don't wait for a milestone to say it. Father,

thank you for the grown children who still want their parents

close. That bond is your gift, and it was never really owed to

us. For every listener who has it, teach them to see it again

and to say aloud what it means. And comfort the ones whose kids

are distant today. You are near to every parent's heart. In

Jesus' name, amen. If Daily Devotions for Busy Lives has

been an encouragement to you, would you take a minute and

leave a rating and review? It helps more people find these

devotions, and it only takes a moment, and I'd be so grateful.

Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

Remember, a grown child who wants you around is one of

life's rare joys. So thank God for it, and tell them what it

means. Come back next time for more encouragement to help you

look grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless, and have

a great day.