Years of Wisdom

At what age do you become known as full of wisdom? This week we have been celebrating my husband’s grandma’s 93rd birthday.  So she is my grandma-in-law, but that is just a mouthful. So we will just call her Grandma Kay as the rest of the family does. 93 years. That is a LONG time. 93 years on this earth means you have experienced so much, seen so much change, and lived through so many different moments of history. Wars. Politics. Government. Economy. Religion. Revolutions. Technology. Natural Disasters. Styles. Trends. Culture. Entertainment.

Now there is an opportunity to learn.  Ask someone who has been through it.

We may not all have grandparents that are that old or are that close to us. But we all know someone. Wisdom from elders is almost a lost art.  With technology and google we have information at our fingertips and forget to ask the true source. We get quick impulse answers, last minute recipes, and short half information stories. The tradition of things being passed down through stories and talking about peoples lives is not shared enough. We all have too much of our time filled with our own stuff to even listen to someone elses story. So slow down.  Take the time to get to know someone.  Ask about their past.  Ask how they came to where they are today. And listen. Take it all in.  And enjoy learning. What we don’t always realize is how much it blesses them to be asked.  We are usually asking for our own sake.  But on the flip side, they love to share and feel special when you ask. Often grandparents or other older folks feel forgotten and disregarded. We should make an effort to make them feel cherished.  And through that we will hear so much knowledge, wisdom, and insight and we will be blessed.  Yes usually the stories come with some opinionated statements, biased points of view, or outlandish comments, but we got to give them a little grace.  They have lived through a lot. With age comes wisdom. Love people for how old they are. The lines on their face and scars on their hands are reflections of life. So let their life impact yours. Listen to their stories.

Find someone: relative, friend, family friend, or any person older than you than can share life stories.  Set a time to sit down and talk with them about their life.