Are there any social structures or communities where children (and young folk in general) can get together and interact with seniors who are not also their relatives (or possibly teachers)? Not that many I’m afraid (I’m sure as soon as I post this someone will write in to tell me of a few). This separation of the generations, while comfortable for those who don’t want to spend much time around people who aren’t their age, may not be beneficial if we value societal stability. I’m not suggesting that society will collapse or anything like that, but when certain people don’t understand other people, when one generation cannot learn something from another generation, I think our lives become impoverished and our experiences less than what they could be.
I bring this up upon reflecting on my life (that clicking noise you hear is the back button). I can honestly count the number of close friends I’ve had on the fingers of one hand. This paucity of friends is likely the symptom of my being a socially inept loner (hey, what do you expect when you voluntarily hole up at home all day). My two closest friends now (and the two closest I’ve ever had) are a married couple both in their mid-80s, both former schoolteachers, and both hospitality personified. And where did I meet them? In church. I’m hard pressed to think of any other venue where I could have met them and then become friends. The funny thing is that I drove past their backyard for nearly ten years never knowing who lived there.
The church is one place where people of different generations can meet, not simply to, say, be entertained (movie, concert, or whatever) but to fellowship, have fun and learn from each other.
The greatest benefit of this meeting of generations is the conveyance of wisdom.
Wisdom can be defined as “the sum of learning through the ages” or “accumulated knowledge”
Wisdom doesn’t just come out of thin air. It is the result of lived experience. It has weathered many of life’s storms. It overlooks offenses and seeks to make things better. Now, to be honest some seniors are not wise, and some youth are not that unwise. But as a general rule, there is no substitute for wisdom bought with a lifetime of being acquainted with all of the struggles life throws at you. I’ve been fascinated with and have learned quite a bit from the seniors in my church through, for example, their stories of war-time experiences, lessons in how to take care of a garden, instructions in cooking, exemplifications of perseverance through difficult circumstances (like poor health).
It seems role models are in scarce supply these days. Next time you’re sitting in church look in the pews around you. There may be one sitting next to you.
Now, in addition to this, there is also a second way to attain wisdom (since I'm not wise, I need additional help)…
7 comments:
I think I know the married couple you're talking about. They are awesome. I'd like to get to know them better. And it's true that church is a great place to meet with people that you wouldn't normally come in contact with. I know that being part of a church family has contributed greatly to who I've become.
Though it's too bad you had to meet the likes of me (*toothless grin*).
Yeah, you're such a pain in the butt! Sometimes I really wonder how I put up with it.
By the way, did you catch that Lee Strobel broadcast? I wrote myself a note to tune in October 1st and then completely forgot. :P
I missed the Strobel extravaganza. Didn’t it start at 8 o’clock in the morning? If so then I was still in bed (what a lazy bum). There's another one in December right?
Incidentally, I’m going to have to start calling you Joan Benoit (or possibly Paula Radcliffe).
Ha! I can only dream of such greatness as those women have achieved. But no...I may run the long distances but I'm slooow. I don't do it for time; I do it just because it makes me happy. :) Whenever I start trying too hard to race it, I get stressed and it takes the fun out of it.
Also...I'm having a bunch of people over for a thanksgiving potluck feast on Monday, October 10th if you're free. There's a bunch of the young adults from our church coming, as well as from my Thursday night Bible Study. It'd be cool if you could come! We clear out all the furniture in our family room and build a giant temporary table. Should be fun! A lot of people won't know each other but it's always easier to get to know people over good food. :)
Thanks for the invite but I may not be free that day (I require a $5 cover charge...that was a [bad] joke [bad as in 'of poor quality']). Sounds like fun though (probably too much fun for me. I'm like a bad sci-fi flick: The Guy That Fun Forgot).
awww...that's too bad. Well I hope you have a good thanksgiving, anyway.
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