A golden chain

A threefold cord is not quickly broken (Eccl 4:12). 

I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love (Hos 11:4). 

 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well (2 Tim 1:5). 

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom[a] you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:14-15).

One of the ways God keeps us close to himself is to keep us close to others who are close to himself–like links in a chain. Timothy was a believer. It's not coincidental that his mother and grandmother were believers. Not coincidental that he learned the Scriptures at their knee. 

Although human attachments are not a necessary or sufficient condition of coming to the faith, or staying in the faith, God often employ providential means to save us and preserve us–including the pull of godly loved ones. Like cords of love, God often uses a pious wife, father, mother, or grandmother (among others) to draw us and bind us to himself by the natural bonds we share with them. Sometimes grace and nature intertwine, like a threefold cord.