A few years ago, during one of the hardest seasons our family has ever walked through, God quietly reshaped my understanding of love.
It was the season following our daughter’s cancer diagnosis. Life felt fragile, uncertain, and heavy. Yet in the middle of that pain, God gave me a front-row seat to something extraordinary. I watched love show up—consistently, intentionally, and with unmistakable joy.
It was during that season, from a front row seat, that I watched the body of Christ love our daughter. Meals arrived. Texts came at just the right moment. People prayed, listened, waited, and stayed. And now, several years later, I’m still witnessing that same love playing out over the long haul. That may be the most beautiful part of all. Love that doesn’t rush in for a moment and then disappear—but remains.
My heart still overflows when I think about it.
That season, painful as it was, served to plant a deep truth in me, especially as a grandparent. We’ve been given a sacred, God-designed opportunity to paint lasting strokes of love onto the lives of our grandchildren.
As I think on it, here’s one important thing I keep coming back to—biblical love isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice. Actually, it’s a thousand small choices made faithfully over time.
So, with that summer and all the lasting strokes of love witnessed then and since, I’ve come to think of love as an alphabet—practices we can intentionally live out as we walk alongside our families to follow Jesus’ lead.
An A–Z of Biblical Love
A – Allows the plight of the broken to touch its heart. Our grandchildren will experience hurt. Let’s not be afraid to enter into it with them.
B – Bears the cost of caring. Love often costs comfort, convenience, or pride—and that’s okay.
C – Comforts and cares for the wounded.
D – Defers to another. Sometimes loving our grandchildren means honoring their parents’ wishes instead of insisting on our own way.
E – Enables us to listen when we’re tempted to react.
F – Follows through and follows up. Remembering the “little things” builds deep trust.
G – Grants the time needed for healing.
H – Hangs around. Never underestimate the power of simply being present.
I – Investigates and serves.
J – Judges not. Our homes should be safe harbors in a loud, demanding world.
K – Keeps step with Jesus. We can’t give away a love we aren’t first receiving from Him.
L – Looks long enough to be affected by what it sees.
M – Moves us to seek understanding when we feel misunderstood.
N – Notices and acts.
O – Offers intensive care.
P – Primary measure God uses to define what matters.
Q – Quits measuring care by the clock.
R – Requires a slower, more unhurried pace of life.
S – Stops when it encounters human need.
T – Travels the journey with the wounded.
U – Unhurried. In a fast world, be the one who has time to sit on the porch or play on the floor.
V – Views people with mercy and extends grace.
W – What matters most.
X – eXerts effort for the sake of others.
Y – Yields its own agenda…
Z – …and zeroes in on God’s.
Grandparenting is not a sprint. It’s a marathon of love—faithful, intentional acts practiced over the long haul.
This week, I’d encourage you to choose just one letter. One “stroke of love.” Practice it with your grandchildren—whether they’re toddlers, teens, or somewhere in between.
More than anything else, they need to see the unhurried, sacrificial, joyful love of Jesus reflected in us. And when they do, it will leave a mark that lasts far beyond the moment.
