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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The amazing thing about growing old...

Growing older is truly an amazing thing.  To watch young people find love.  To see a new baby discover its toes.  And to see kids grow up. 

No, I am not THAT old.  But, I am old enough to have seen children pass through childhood, into adulthood and become parents of their own joyful bundles.  And as I gaze upon God's work, nothing amazes me more than seeing those amazing young adults grow into people that teach me about the new and amazing things of their generation.

I know that I am not expressing this clearly so let me give you some examples.  I have heard my mother say that I teach her and I dress her but until recently I couldn't completely understand that amazing feeling.  The pride-full feeling you get when you realize that someone you once taught, someone who looked to you for advice, is now wise and knowledgeable in their own right.  Wise, knowledgable and capable of teaching you about the amazing things that their world holds.  Things that you don't know; things that you don't understand; things that you didn't even know existed.

Today, I was drawn into a re-post for a computer give-away.  Yes, well, I could use a new computer and thought that it was worth checking out.  It turned out that the give-away was from a blog that I am not comfortable supporting but the technology that it used and the vision of those in the new generation left me acknowledging that I am not "in touch" with all that this new social media generation holds.  Despite the fact that I blog, tweet, FB and all that jazz, I am sadly amiss from all that it can do.  I admittedly don't always understand what #FF means or how to monetize my site.  I am able to do what I need - what I want - but in the end still wonder what other amazing things are out there.

In this culture where getting old is often thought of as losing touch or "over the hill", in a world where we fight to "wash that gray right out of our hair", is there not a place for both the young to learn from the old and the old to learn from the young?  And why do the old feel that they can learn nothing from the generations behind them?  Why are children taught to listen to their elders but the parents are not taught to listen to their young?

As I approach one of thoseB-I-G birthdays this year, I hope that I can learn to listen better to those younger than me.  Learn to hear better the amazing things that my angel teaches me each day.  I pray that I gain the wisdom that comes with the gray hairs and the joy that comes with Peace.  God, this year, give me the humility that comes with realizing that I know nothing.

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