2008 Woodie Awards
It is apparently not so easy to love the elderly, yet please do
Sara Morehouse
Issue date: 2/27/07
Last Updated: 8/9/07
I think of my grandma, Gram Sara, 88, who lives just across the street from my parent's home. I forgot to call her on her birthday this year. How long will I assume that she is "always going to be there" and how much will I be impacted when she is gone?
My dad is quite the hero and role model in this situation. After eight hours of construction work every day, he stops by to see her. Just to hear her stories again (and again), to bring in firewood, to get barked at by her dog.
He doesn't do it because he has nothing better to do, he does it because he loves his mother-in-law.
Sure, loving old people takes more time than sending a text message and they don't go out for coffee at Mind and Hearth very often. It will take patience and you will probably miss the new episode of "Lost."
And don't say, "It's not my grandpa." Everyone deserves the respect of having someone love them. Love wasn't made for Valentine's Day; it was made to cost you something.
If God, who is love, will allow His Son to be killed for you and me, shouldn't we be able to spare the "murder" of a few of our preciously hoarded hours.
Of course it is easy to love my friend who sends me cute notes in my student mailbox that say, "Hey Hottie! You are my sunshine!" on construction paper with smiling stickers.
Perhaps hearing the gastrointestinal saga of a 77-year-old for the third time doesn't quite evoke the happy feelings of bright colors and scratch'n'sniff, but if loving others was easy and glamorous, everyone would do it.
"If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal?" (Matthew 5:46-47a, The Message)
Pretty self-explanatory. Jesus has a way of making things clear, doesn't He?
So, before we all become mummies within ourselves, let's think about those who aren't wrapped in love and share some of our abundance. After all, nothing gets people's attention more than a mummy coming back to life.
My dad is quite the hero and role model in this situation. After eight hours of construction work every day, he stops by to see her. Just to hear her stories again (and again), to bring in firewood, to get barked at by her dog.
He doesn't do it because he has nothing better to do, he does it because he loves his mother-in-law.
Sure, loving old people takes more time than sending a text message and they don't go out for coffee at Mind and Hearth very often. It will take patience and you will probably miss the new episode of "Lost."
And don't say, "It's not my grandpa." Everyone deserves the respect of having someone love them. Love wasn't made for Valentine's Day; it was made to cost you something.
If God, who is love, will allow His Son to be killed for you and me, shouldn't we be able to spare the "murder" of a few of our preciously hoarded hours.
Of course it is easy to love my friend who sends me cute notes in my student mailbox that say, "Hey Hottie! You are my sunshine!" on construction paper with smiling stickers.
Perhaps hearing the gastrointestinal saga of a 77-year-old for the third time doesn't quite evoke the happy feelings of bright colors and scratch'n'sniff, but if loving others was easy and glamorous, everyone would do it.
"If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal?" (Matthew 5:46-47a, The Message)
Pretty self-explanatory. Jesus has a way of making things clear, doesn't He?
So, before we all become mummies within ourselves, let's think about those who aren't wrapped in love and share some of our abundance. After all, nothing gets people's attention more than a mummy coming back to life.
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