Scripture of the Day: Job 32:7
"...age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom."
I thought on this Friday, I would go with a light-hearted post which is really more about memories I would like to treasure, rather than a devotion!
If you are blessed to have (or have had) grandfathers in your life, I wonder if they were like mine. Although they both died several years ago, my grandpa's were something else. Sometimes crotchety, sometimes funny, sometimes larger than life, sometimes melancholy, sometimes gruff, and sometimes full of wisdom that nobody else had the courage to say. And I always knew they loved me. Yesterday as I was reflecting on delayed blessings in my life, the words (and wisdom) of both of my grandfathers came to mind!
I was engaged to a man prior to my husband. He was not a bad man...but he was not right for me. And my Grandpa Bolwerk knew it. The first time he met the guy I don't think he was too impressed. No one in my family said anything to me but as I was talking to my grandpa one-on-one, sitting on a picnic table up-north while most of the family was fishing, he said to me, "Tunia, (that is what he called all grand daughters - the boys were 'dudes') there are other fish in the sea." I replied that I wanted that fish and that pretty much ended the conversation. The point is that he knew David wasn't the man for me and he had the guts to tell me. Even though I didn't listen!
Turn the page a little over a year and the St. John side of my family met the man who is now my husband. The gathering was a family wedding and that brings people together in a fast way! After spending a few hours with Nathan, my Grandpa St. John said to me, "Bets, you are in love with that boy. You should marry him." Huh?? I remember being shocked because 1) my love was so apparent to apparently everyone (we had only been dating a month) and 2) I couldn't believe my grandpa was bringing up my marrying a man he just met (although I knew even then I wanted to marry Nathan). How I treasured those words, especially because my grandpa died a few days before our big wedding ceremony. I knew he knew that I ended up with a good man.
The point of all of this ramble? Sometimes your elders are privy to a little more wisdom than we are in our youth. They have earned the right to speak...and you should listen to them! Even when they say things you think are inappropriate, or you view as intrusive - take a moment and reflect on what was said. They just might know what they are talking about! And in the very least...when your grandparents have passed on, those words they said are memories you can treasure forever.
"...age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom."
I thought on this Friday, I would go with a light-hearted post which is really more about memories I would like to treasure, rather than a devotion!
If you are blessed to have (or have had) grandfathers in your life, I wonder if they were like mine. Although they both died several years ago, my grandpa's were something else. Sometimes crotchety, sometimes funny, sometimes larger than life, sometimes melancholy, sometimes gruff, and sometimes full of wisdom that nobody else had the courage to say. And I always knew they loved me. Yesterday as I was reflecting on delayed blessings in my life, the words (and wisdom) of both of my grandfathers came to mind!
I was engaged to a man prior to my husband. He was not a bad man...but he was not right for me. And my Grandpa Bolwerk knew it. The first time he met the guy I don't think he was too impressed. No one in my family said anything to me but as I was talking to my grandpa one-on-one, sitting on a picnic table up-north while most of the family was fishing, he said to me, "Tunia, (that is what he called all grand daughters - the boys were 'dudes') there are other fish in the sea." I replied that I wanted that fish and that pretty much ended the conversation. The point is that he knew David wasn't the man for me and he had the guts to tell me. Even though I didn't listen!
Turn the page a little over a year and the St. John side of my family met the man who is now my husband. The gathering was a family wedding and that brings people together in a fast way! After spending a few hours with Nathan, my Grandpa St. John said to me, "Bets, you are in love with that boy. You should marry him." Huh?? I remember being shocked because 1) my love was so apparent to apparently everyone (we had only been dating a month) and 2) I couldn't believe my grandpa was bringing up my marrying a man he just met (although I knew even then I wanted to marry Nathan). How I treasured those words, especially because my grandpa died a few days before our big wedding ceremony. I knew he knew that I ended up with a good man.
The point of all of this ramble? Sometimes your elders are privy to a little more wisdom than we are in our youth. They have earned the right to speak...and you should listen to them! Even when they say things you think are inappropriate, or you view as intrusive - take a moment and reflect on what was said. They just might know what they are talking about! And in the very least...when your grandparents have passed on, those words they said are memories you can treasure forever.
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