That Old Woman

In church this past weekend, we sat a couple rows behind a rickety old woman. I remember thinking how frail she looked, and I was a little sad for her, thinking that she may not have much time left here on earth. But as I watched her praising my God, singing of His faithfulness to her, and struggling to raise her hand in worship up past her waist, my feelings changed. Instead of feeling sorry for her I began to admire her, and she became an inspiration to me. I began to see her as a woman who had been in His service (probably) many years more than I have, and although I have no way of knowing, I considered that her and God may have been through much deeper things than I can even imagine in my comparatively few years of knowing Him.

In my own praise, I started giving thanks to God for this old lady who has fought the good fight, and through it all, kept the faith. I don't even know her, but she became a gift from God to me. Instead of being near the end of her time on earth, I now saw her as near the end of her race- with her reward almost in sight. I almost envied her. What a blessing she turned out to be!

When I Was Their Age

I must be getting old. When I look at our kids as they live out their lives, I sometimes want to give them pointers to help them out. Sometimes I do give them pointers. Other times, I figure it's a lesson that they'll remember better if they learn it on their own. That can be pretty rough on a dad, letting them have the freedom to make their own decisions. It wasn't that long ago that it was my job to make the decisions. When they make wise decisions, it's a thrill to watch them reap the rewards. (And it's hard not to give myself at least a little pat on the back. True, they made the decision on their own, but I like to think I had a part in it long ago.)

Even when they make poor decisions and pay the price, it sometimes warms my heart to see the way they grow through it and hopefully learn from the experience. I've seen many wise and noble choices made by our kids over the years. They're good kids. But the last few weeks have seen some downright bad decisions. If I'm going to pat myself on the back when they do well, it's only fair that I accept my lumps when they don't do so well. And right now, that warm-hearted feeling ain't being felt by me. It's times like this that make me want to say, "When I was your age I did this and this, and I NEVER did that!" But the truth is, I'm glad they never saw my worst years. When I was their age, I usually didn't do this and this, and I did that almost constantly. Sometimes I can pass on wisdom via the voice of experience, but sometimes my wisdom comes off as hypocrisy. I did it, so why shouldn't they? These things they'll just have to find out for themselves. There are lots of mistakes I made when I was younger that taught me valuable lessons, but that doesn't mean that if I could turn back time I would do it all the same. Sigh....