Wisdom of the Aging

A friend of mine’s mother celebrated 88 years young this weekend. She looked so beautiful, and the entire celebration was just wonderful! Mother Faye has observed many changes in our world including Technology, the Presidents, change in our Laws and the way we communicate with each other. She had shared several concerns of her heart with one of her granddaughters, Joshuanna, and is blessed to travel with her each week . One of her major concerns shared was that although all of her children and grandchildren were bought up in church some have strayed away. As adults, some have chosen not to go to church with their children or ensure they receive the teaching of God. The Word of God commissioned us in Hebrew 10:25 to not fail to assemble together with other believers in fellowship. This is important because we gain strength from each other; therefore, we must choose to meet with one another in true worship. 2Thessalonians 2:3 speaks of a great falling away of the end times when people will not choose to seek sound doctrine from God’s Word and fellowship which is exactly what Mother Faye is seeing. This decline in church attendance was also observed in research from the Frequency of Religious Attendance Services from ‘21- ‘23 which showed that “three in 10 Americans attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend. Catholics show one of the larger drops in attendance, from 45% to 33%, while there are slightly smaller decreases among Orthodox (nine percentage points) and Hindu followers (eight points).” (Gallup Social Series)

Another nugget shared from the grandmother was that it is important that the grands give her “her flowers” while she is alive and can smell them. I also heard that statement from my mother and appreciate it for myself as well. We as a people must remember to show love and respect to those that are older, in the rest homes, hospitals, or just in their individual homes. As we share with our elderly population, we would be amazed at the wisdom we could glean from them, opportunity to grow, build relationships, and learn about their life experiences. These are priceless things that young people could not learn in a book but may cherish for a lifetime.

The final nugget that Mother Faye voiced to Joshuanna was that if you give someone a birthday card, you should place something of monetary value inside of the card. I am not sure many adults are even aware of this. That is something my mother had instilled in us as we were growing up. Words are nice, but it is even better to receive something that you can meet a need with.

Often times, the elderly may feel like they don’t have a voice but are concerned about the way our society is going especially with our young people. I appreciate the relationship that Joshuanna and her grandmother have and the voice that she has given to help make her opinions and ideas be known and heard amongst her cousins.

What are you doing to make a difference in the lives of Senior Citizens? Do you visit those that may be lonely, homebound, in facilities or need to get food or their medicines, and or maybe just need someone to talk to. Seek out those in your community that you could build a loving relationship with! Remember, I am a Life Coach and am already meeting with Seniors, each week. You may contact me if you have questions on building relationships with others, wandaphd.com Thank you, DrWanda