I have two sisters who have been amazing influences on my kids. I also have friends who never had children of their own, but they, too, have been God-given gifts to young people in our church, or their nieces and nephews. Beth from Arizona isn’t a mom or grandma, but she told me that she’s seen in her own family the tremendous “spiritual, intellectual and developmental impact on” kids in her family. Sometimes as aunts or uncles reinforce something we’re trying to teach our kids, it has more of an impact because it’s coming from somebody other than us. We as parents can “actually leverage these types of relationships to enrich our kids’ lives and help them grow in Christ.”

Suggested Reading: Deuteronomy 6:6-7