GrandGram #12, written by Beth Sheldon (October 4, 2023)
Why Write a Grandparent Manifesto? (And what is a manifesto anyway?)
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “manifesto” as follows:
MANIFEST’O, noun [Latin manifestus, manifest.] A public declaration, usually of a prince or sovereign, showing his intentions, or proclaiming his opinions and motives.
MAN’IFEST, verb transitive [Latin manifesto ] To reveal; to make to appear; to show plainly; to make public; to disclose to the eye or to the understanding.
What we want to see manifest in our grandparenting is much more likely to happen if we write the vision down and make it plain through a manifesto. It says in Habakkuk 2:2 AMP, “Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision And engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets So that the one who reads it will run.”
How exciting it is to write an identity statement in alignment with who God says we are and what His intentions are for us as grandparents in His Kingdom. There is a purpose and focus for us, a way of seeing and understanding God’s intent for this specific role and season of our lives. If we write it down and keep it before us, it will be plain to us how we are to run purposefully in this most fruitful and intentional season of our lives. We will know what to do from the overflow of who we are and our unique assignment in this season.
So, let’s begin to form a beliefs statement that encapsulates the essence of our assignment as a glory to glory grandparent: Holy Spirit, help us embrace our Sovereign King’s perspective of our role as grandparents. Impart to us what He is decreeing and seeing we are in this season of our lives. Reveal what His intentions and motives and opinions are for us. We want to embrace His thoughts, which are so much higher than our own!
I Am a Glory to Glory Grandparent. I am a Receiver of Kingdom Revelation Cultivating Eternal Legacy in My Family. I Am not Distant, Disinterested, Discouraged, or Done. I Am Doing What I Am Uniquely Assigned by God to Do In My Grandchildren’s Lives. I Delight to Dig to Discover the Gold Hidden Within Them. I Choose to Know Them After the Spirit. I Do Not Compare Who I Am As a Grandparent with Another I Do Not Bow to the Fear of Man. I Resonate with the Frequency of Heaven as I Relate with My Grandchildren Here on Earth. I Create Opportunities for Relational Intimacy. I Connect Deeply with Intentionality. I Confidently and Courageously Commit to Affirming Their Destiny with Prophetic Clarity. I Accomplish This Through Accountability With the Trinity and in Kingdom Community. I Share My Glory Story to Encourage, Edify, and Embolden Each Grandchild to Fully Live Their Own Unique Story. I Show Up and Shine to Champion Their Way to Their Brightest Days I Release Kingdom Solutions to the Rising Generations, Crafting Eternal Legacy. As I Do, They Arise to Shine in Their God-Breathed Glory. Their Purpose is Revealed, Their Inheritance Seized and Stewarded Gloriously. They Arise to Shine and Fulfill Their Own Unique Assignments, Bringing Kingdom Transformation to Their Fields of influence!
Here is a first draft of our crafted statement of identity as Glory to Glory Grandparents. With this clarity and in intimacy with God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, as well as a close partnership with a Kingdom community of other Glory to Glory Grandparents, we will fulfill our assignments and create an enduring Kingdom legacy through our families!
In closing, I anticipate the season we are about to step into as Glory to Glory Grandparents will bring about a great unveiling of who we really are! Our grandchildren are among those in creation groaning for our unveiling as the mature children of God. He qualifies us to share all His treasures with our children and grandchildren. Since we are joined to Christ, we are heirs of God, inheritors of all He is and all He has! Wow! Wow! Wow! Such glorious good news for us and the generations we are empowered to influence!
“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own. I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!”
– Romans 8:14-19 The Passions Translation
I would love to receive your input and feedback on this manifesto. Does it resonate with the vision and longings in your heart as a grandparent? Feel free to email me with any impressions you have. You have my heartfelt thanks in advance!