My five grandchildren – Skylar, Micah, Nicholas, Evelyn and Thomas – are blessed beyond what they’re yet able to understand. They have parents and grandparents who love them without conditions, and even better than that, who bring their Christian heritage to bear on their lives, praying for them and teaching them of God’s love.

Whenever I visit my three British grandbabies, their other grandma, Sarah, and I have been in charge of our little people for a day, enjoying each other’s company in the process. We’ve been “Team Gran England.”

Today my other co-grandma, Terry, and I had the fun of “Team Gran Florida.”

Although Sarah and Terry are in the same age bracket, I’m nearly 15 years older than both of them. But I have five extremely important things in common with these two women: my precious grandchildren.

Just as a wedding brings the bride’s and groom’s parents together in otherwise unlikely relationships, grandchildren bring co-grandparents together in the same unique way. When these relationships are harmonious, the grandchildren reap great benefits. But they aren’t the only ones.

Today as Terry and I played and worked with Skylar and Micah, we enjoyed each others company as much as we took pleasure in our shared little ones. Between “let’s make a sand castle” and “now it’s lunch time,” we snatched moments of catch-up conversation and exchanged new information about each others lives. Getting to know my co-grandmas better each time we’re together is one of the joyful perks of grandmothering.

There’s a second important benefit in being partnered with a compatible co-grandma. Because both Terry and Sarah have close relationships with Jesus Christ, they’re reminding the children (as I am) that God loves them and is watching over them, that he has good things planned for their lives and wants what’s best for them. They’re highlighting each child’s uniqueness and are crediting the Lord with creating them as one-of-a-kind individuals.

All three of us are giving the same messages, which avoids confusion. Although the children will eventually make their own choices to follow Christ or not, at least while they’re young, they’ll hear us all speaking in one accord.

And there’s a third reason why I’m very grateful for Terry and Sarah. I’m the only one of us who lives far from her grandchildren. Although I could become despondent over the thousands of miles between us, I don’t stress about it for one reason. These two energetic, child-loving women, “Grammy” and “Gandy”, each do enough hands-on grandmothering for two women: themselves and “Grandma Midgee!”

And so it’s not just the children who receive bunches of benefits when co-grandmothers are compatible. The blessing spreads across many miles to encourage the long-distance grandma, too.

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” (Psalm 71:18)