Who is the oldest person you have ever known? What insight into life to pick up from him or her? (Serendipity Bible 10th anniversary edition, page 1052).
Several
people come to mind. There was my grandmother Ollie Peake, a neighbor
Rev. Aldridge, and another neighbor Mrs. Woods. Each taught me
something different about life.
My
grandmother loved me. I have no doubt about that. But she could not
hide the fact that she liked my brother better than me. I had some
difficulty dealing with this knowing that she was doing her best not
to play favorites. This situation taught me that people cannot help
their inclinations and we must respect them and forgive them for what
they cannot help anyway. Our feeling of being a second choice must
not dampen our vitality nor prevent our loving others.
Next
comes Rev. Aldridge—a man with aggressive spunk if I've ever met
one. He challenged me to "come out of my shell". He taught
me that it is profoundly attractive when we find in others a sturdy
sense of self-worth and the willingness to self-express without fear
or intimidation.
Mrs.
Woods lived in my neighborhood in Ellenton when I was coming out of
childhood and growing into early teens. I would go visit her and we
would sit by the fireplace and she would tell me stories of times
past. I loved the fact that the past dwelt within the present and
exercised deep influence there. That is, character to a large extent
is the product of our past experiences.
Now
my turn to be old is fast approaching. I wonder how youngsters I meet
and greet will be remembering me many years hence. I would be greatly
satisfied if they found me someone who embodied trust and somehow
communicated the importance and priceless value of it. I once had a
motto for this: He put the “T” back in Trust.
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