All part of God's grand plan

Often invisible – but vital – grandparents have a massive role to play in their grandkid’s lives and faith, even if it’s from a distance, writes Olly Goldenberg.

Grandparents are a genius design of God. Invested and interested in their grandkids, they have time to take them off their harried parents’ hands. Parents get a few hours off, children get time with grandparents who love them, grandparents get family time and space to recharge when they’ve handed the children back.

Grandparents have a huge role to play in bringing up grandchildren and nurturing their faith.

But the reality is they are often virtually invisible – devoting themselves behind the scenes with little mention or practical support.

So let’s take some time to look at the main challenges they face and how these might be navigated.

One big difficulty for grandparents is our rapidly shifting culture.

The world children are growing up in now is very different from that which their grandparents knew.