Monday, July 10, 2017

The Old and The Young

Yesterday I had the wonderful privilege of attending yet another annual birthday party for grandsons Austin (21)  and Nick (19).  We have had that privilege since they were both just little guys.  They are not so little anymore.  Born on the same day, two years apart, it has become a family tradition to celebrate their special day.  We have enjoyed through these years not only observing  Austin and Nick growing up, but also their cousins, Andrew, Megan and Katie.  It has always been a special gathering and remains so.  Helen and Paul have not only given us the gift of these two grandsons, but have also faithfully hosted the big July party each year. 

Some say, humility comes with age.  In my early years I thought I knew just about everything there was to know.  I even thought I had most of the answers. The truth is that I didn’t even know then what the important questions were.  This malady of “knowing it all” was quickly cured as the experiences of life tumbled in around me.  I quickly came to the realization that there are no simple answers.  Simple answers are always wrong, because the world is not simple!  The mystery of life and the questions that come with it actually increase with experience and age.  I now know that what I do not know far surpasses what I know.


That being said, I am always delighted to be with young people and to hear “their take” on the questions and issues of our time.  Their answers, like my own in my early years, will be tried and tested as life tumbles in on them.  But we do ourselves and our world a great injustice if we simply say they are young and think they have the “the bull by the tail.”   To say such a thing is to suggest that we haven’t learned a thing about the humility of maturity.  They may know something we don’t know!



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