Sunday Sermon
This last Sunday the Pastor spoke on James 1 and was apologetic, however; "Shut up and Listen!" seemed a good sermon title to me.
He encourage us to slow down and listen to people and God, think about how we respond and don't hold a grudge. I have spent a lot of the last 30 years working with the elderly and small children. Both groups are the most forgiving folks. The kiddos haven't learned to hold a grudge and the older folks have learned it isn't good for your health. Meanwhile, the people in the middle need to get over themselves.
I spent the last week with the amazing Mrs. M. She and I both moved to Susanville, CA when we were six years old. My trip was from Oregon in 1966, but here trip was around 1938. She described the family trip from Oklahoma as resembling something from The Grapes of Wrath. My trip was just a mom with three girls, and a Norwegian Elk Hound in a 1959 Chevy Station Wagon.
We both attended grade school and high school in the town, but the building were mostly different. The best part was we both had our Senior Year books and it was fun to compare our Rays from the Purple.
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| 1950, 1974 to 1977 |
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| Ginnie Langley |
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| The Amazing Mrs. "M" |
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| 17 year old me |
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| Grammie Butterfly |
We have had some great laughs. She wanted to tell her daughter that we got in a big fight. Since we have both passed the age of holding a grudges, I don't remember what that was about. It is a privilege everyone should enjoy~ to spend time with people who have lived through wars, the dust bowl, fires, floods and raising children. I have often said, "They have forgotten more than I ever learned."
I had a little business that ended in 2013 cleaning houses and caring for older folks. It was Deena's Home &Garden or Deena's Overall Cleaning.(As I never got a business license, I called it whatever I wanted.) During a twelve year period I was blessed to share the lives of about a dozen folks in their final years. I felt it a pleasure to learn from them as they prepared to leave this time of being "robed in saggy skin" to being "robed in righteousness."
My last client, Earlene, took a lot out of me, but she gave me so much more than I could imagine possible from a lady in her 90's.
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| Earlene Hamilton |
A Legacy
My clients left me with a legacy. Sure I have a few piece of furniture and odd trinkets, but more important are the memories. Earlene and I shared stories for about 8 years. When she died I shared a story that she told to me often. Her family thanked me. They had not Shut up to Listen to that story for a long time.
I saw a Meme last week that said, " Listen to me repeat the same story over and over, you made me read the same book over and over and I did not mind." That is so true. As we age we forgot who we told what story too. We like a story and want to share it with all we meet. Sometimes, we even remember a story that someone else told and believe it is our own. That is all okay. It is not a lie, it is just remembering differently.
I hope this last week of patiently listening will help me to be: An easy listener, a thoughtful speaker and a forgiving audience. My generation are on the cusp of being "the elderly". Our living parents are, "The Elderly." Our grandchildren think we are very old. I had a 7 year old tell me that his grandma was, "Old as Hell." He was corrected for an inappropriate statement, but his grandma is younger than me!
#16days
I am excited that in 16 days my vacation will begin. I get to spend four days with my giggling granddaughters. I can't wait to tell stories, sing songs and listen to them tell me all about life.
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