Have you ever marveled at the stuff people could do a couple of generations ago? For the most part, our grandparents knew how to build houses, fix cars, grow food, live within their means, be neighborly, stay married, raise kids- and a hundred other things that seem so challenging today. We live with more information and conveniences than ever- but is life really better today? Are we any better at living it? While we can’t recreate the “good old days”, we could stand to grab some of the timeless wisdom that blessed and sustained those who came before us. Our next teaching series will focus on some of the biblical values and life skills that seemed more widespread a couple of generations ago.
To get the ball rolling, we'd love to hear from you about the "front porch wisdom" you've gotten from your grandparents, older relatives, mentors, etc.
Are there any pieces of advice you refer back to time and again?
Any character traits you've tried to emulate?
Any fond memories or stories of the wise sages in your life that you reach back to for inspiration?
8 comments:
My grandad was a carpenter so he definitely knew how to build a house. I can remember every dinner we ever had with him, he would tell a story that at some point always led to "so I took a two by four...". We laugh about that now, but that's one thing I really admired about my grandad it was that he was a hard worker. He worked with his hands and he always did the job to the best of his ability. He took pride in his work and it showed. I would like to think that I have some of his work ethic now that I'm an adult, but I definitely wish I had more of it.
My grandad was the most gentle guy I knew. He was a lay baptist preacher who was fond of calling everyone "my baby" in his sweet, Eastern KY drawl.
Towards the end of his life he confessed that his nickname growing up was "badas". Add one more s to the end and you get the point. He was small in stature and regularly got into fights to show everyone how tough he was.
When I think of him I'm reminded that people can really change and mature.
My grandfather was an amazing man. He worked much of his life on someone else's farm and made very little money. But never once did he complain or say he wished it was different. He enjoyed life for what it was adn trusted that God was in control. Just looking at him made me proud. He passed away on Valentine's Day this year but left me with many memories and an amazing faith I can only hope to live up to.
I loved that you could almost always anticipate half of the dinner meal at my grandparents would be from their garden. With plenty of fresh flowers on the table. I think we have a craving for the "organic" in our lives which is made evident by the loads of holistic grocery stores and even Wal-Mart having more organic canned veggies on the shelf.
Interesting that the generations before us were eating pretty organically.
I love the pace of life it seems my grandparents live in as well. When I'm around them everything in life goes into slow motion...such a rare thing today.
I remember on Sundays, my Grandparents really made that day the Sabbath. Our family would go to church early that morning, eat a huge, garden grown feast, and then just rest (usually outside on the swing and on the old rusty metal chairs). In fact they wouldn't even let us go fishing.
Although now I would say it is all right to go fishing (my opinion only), I think their intent was great. The time was very sacred to them and wanted to honor God in their actions.
I hope to inherit the hard working attitude during the week, but then the very intentional time to just rest.
Two things that my grandparents left me with. I must first say that they were married about 55 years and I aspire to that if I live that long. I have 3 months down and a lifetime to go. Anyway my grandmother was fixing herself up in the mirror one day, I asked her who she had to impress. She told me that just because she married my grandfather didn't mean she should let herself go. The second came from that same grandfather. He was a very quiet man and when he spoke, it was usually with wisdom. I learned that if I listened more and talked less I would be wiser for it. I think of both of those things a lot. When I am feeling grungy and want to go around in sweats all the time, I remember that I need to keep myself up. To talk less for me is hard, maybe because I am a woman? Anyway, I try to be quiet and pay attention.
My parents disassociated themselves from their families long ago, and I rarely saw my grandparents after I turned 13.
I do, however, remember my great grandfather quite vividly. His wife died young and he lived alone in a mobile home. He stood about 5'2 and was a spunky old man. He worked until the day he passed (heart attack while working) at the age of 86, because he said he would be bored if he couldn't work.
I remember him bringing us meat from the butcher shop every week and we would go visit him every couple weeks. He taught me the patience to play solitaire (a hundred different ways) at a folding card table in the living room. He taught me to love Lawrence Welk, the only thing he would watch on his old black and white TV that took 10 minutes to warm up. He danced with me around the room, pretending to be Cissy and Bobby. He taught me to fry chicken in a cast iron skillet on the stove, which he made for himself every Sunday afternoon without fail, and taught me it goes best with fresh sliced tomatoes and greens. He taught me to eat homemade vanilla ice cream with fresh ground pepper on it that we would grind in his hand held coffee grinder.
He always said blessing at family gatherings, even though it was in Dutch and the rest of the family swore it wasn't a blessing at all, just something he once learned how to say.
He never cared about what people thought about him but cared deeply for others, and went out of his way to help whomever he saw needed it. Although he lived very modestly, he surprised everyone with what he left to pass on to his heirs.
So, I guess he had a lot of the qualities I try to emulate in my life. I try not to be a "people pleaser" (although it's very hard for me not to) and I try to help others when I can, and sometimes when I can't. I play cards and dance around the room with my children, and I am working on living within my means.
Janet, I love the ground pepper on van. ice cream! I've never heard of anyone else doing that. Those of you who haven't tried fresh ground pepper on your sweets, you're missing out.
My dad's parents are straight from the 50's. They still live in the same neighborhood and been married 50+yrs. They never spent time imparting wisdom as they did just carrying out their lives. They're a good testament.
On the other hand, my mom's dad is very anecdotal. My favorite piece of advice that he told me was, "Stand up and be counted for." Good gutsy advice for any inkling of cowardice from everything to mom's punishment, teenage peer pressure and admitting faults at work and home. I wrote his name on the stage and at age 73 he found God. A true miracle from a cantankerous ole coot.
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