The Forgotten Value of Our Elderly

Hebrews 13:7

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of Yah to you., whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

I grew up in the seventies, the end of an era when grandmothers, big mamas, and grandpa were elders with grey hair and the experience of their years were passed down as a torch to carry on the family heritage. With the trend of teen pregnancies,  grandparents have gotten younger. The generational gap has become wider and the loss of the responsibility of passing down experience and family history has became less and less. The parents of the recent decades are actually growing and maturing along with their children. The contact with the elder generation was lost in the shuffle of time where there was no longer a need or importance to sit down and appreciate all the history and knowledge you can gain by just spending time with the elders of the previous generations. 

Psalm 78:5

 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

When I was in my early thirties, my maternal grandfather was still alive, he was ninety six. I decided to take a voice recorder and talk with him about his history and our family history. I found out some amazing discoveries about my family history. My grandfather was the third generation down from His grandmother who was brought from Madagascar to become a slave here in the United States, her slave name was Delia. She was sold to a family who had settled in the United States from England. He told me his mother was fourteen when slavery ended. When you measure  the time now and the history of slavery, it really wasn't that long ago. I learned a lot from my grandfather and he really enjoyed talking to me about his life and the history of our family. We talked for over two hours and I will never forget it. Sometimes we forget how valuable our elders are, the history that we can gain and oftentimes they long to be able to sit down and talk with us, because so few people take the time to actually spend time with them and listen to them. They want the opportunity to leave a legacy with the next generation. Today, young people do not put the value on the knowledge that can be taught by senior citizens as it was in the past. I didn't get that chance with my paternal grandmother because she was often distant from me, she wasn't a very affectionate woman, but I do regret that I didn't make more of an effort with her toward the end of her life, because perhaps she would have shared with me why she wasn't as loving and tender as she could have been.

I will never know, she often asked me to visit her in the last few years of her life, but our relationship was never more than what she made it, tho I did try for many years to establish a relationship with her in my early adolescent years and beyond.  My maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather died before I was born. Now, I'm a grandmother of seven granddaughters and I could never comprehend how a grandparent wouldn't want to bask in the wonderful feeling of love you get from being one. There is nothing more beautiful, except when you have your own children. So life comes full circle and if you are blessed to have  surviving grandparents, don't let one more moment go by without enjoying that time while they are still here. Each day you are fortunate enough to spend time, talk and learn about your family's history is a blessing. The wealth of history they can tell you and the satisfaction of seeing the joy on their face because someone has taken the time to acknowledge they care. Take it from me, you won't regret it. So many senior citizens sit alone without anyone to visit them and care for them. If your grandparents have passed on, perhaps you can visit an elderly relative, or volunteer a few visits a week at a nursing home or maybe just a phone call to brighten their day.

I was on the beach one day and noticed an elderly man playing with this child, it could have been a great grandchild or grandchild. He came along with a group of younger people, probably his children and great-grandchildren, I thought it was beautiful, a tender expression between two generations, so I took a few pictures. How rare it is to witness this.

If you have grandparents or an elderly person in your life, please take the time to visit them, talk to them and let them know you love them. They are your connection to the past, just as you are their legacy to the future.