Taking Your Kids’ Kids: Answering Your “Buts”

I know, I know. Many of you are sick of reading how wonderful Cousin’s Camp is. You’re thinking, “Good for you, Pearson’s. Way to go. Yippee.” I get it. I hear it.

There are tons of “buts” out there, and a whole bunch of “what abouts.”

“But my grandchildren live too far away.”
“What about not having a house big enough?”
“What about my failing health?”
“But my kids’ spouses don’t want their kids spending all that time with us.”
“What about me, pastor, I lost my spouse and it’s just me?”
“But an entire week? Are you kidding me!? There just ain’t no way.”
“But my grandchildren don’t want to spend that much time with me/us.”
“But I can’t afford something like that.”
“What about my energy level? I have a hard time walking to the mailbox, much less entertaining a hundred grand-kids!”
“But my grandchildren are older, married, and have their own kids. My time has passed.”

I hear you. I get it. I mean it. I do. I don’t know if Katie and I will dare take on such a feat. Perhaps if we have 2.5 grandchildren, then maybe. As I said on day one – my parents are weird. Seriously. They are. Super weird. Cousin’s Camp is not for everyone. If you can do it, do it. But if you can’t, it’s okay.

Here’s what I want to challenge you with, however. Go back and consider the reasons I have provided this week for why taking your kids’ kids is such a big deal:

All of these things can happen in tons of other ways than a week of Cousin’s Camp. If you can take them for a week, fantastic. But if you can’t, what about . . .

Keeping your grandchildren overnight once a month or once a quarter?
Doing a mini-Cousin’s Camp? A two-day or three-day camp?
Offering to keep your kids’ kids for a couple of hours once a month so mom and dad can go on a date?
Providing funds so your kids can hire their own babysitter and go out and eat together, alone?
Identifying young parents in your church and offering to make it possible for them to have some alone time?

I know you – Mimi and Gigi. Meemaw and Peepaw. Pops and Grannie. Grandmaw and Grandpaw. I’ve had grandparents and pastored them for almost 20 years. I know you. You value biblical marriage. You want to stay young. You want your family to know how loved they are. You worry about your own children and their marriages. The pressure isn’t on you to fix all these things. And Lord knows these matters are not your fault. No, no. BUT – you can take some intentional steps be a part of a solution.

Mom and Dad – thank you. Thank you for loving each other well. Loving my children well. And allowing Katie and me to look each other in the eye every year and say, “Hey. Remember me?”

It’s a big deal.