Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2022): Psalm 71
In May 1990, my first
grandparent died. My dad's father fell off a ladder and bled into the base of his brain. At the time
of his death, he was a healthy man in his early seventies. His death was sudden
and completely unexpected. And it was the first time that I had experienced the
passing of a close family member.
Of course, it wouldn't be the last. Just over a decade later, my maternal
grandfather died. Then came the death of my wife's parents. Then the first of my grandmother's passed away at age 104. And then we mourned the loss of my brother-in-law, Ken. I still have one grandmother,
my mom's mom, left, and she is 107. With the death of those close to me, I mourn almost more than anything else the loss of
their stories. Every one of my lost loved ones has been a storyteller on some level, with my grandfathers possibly being the best. And yes, I heard some of the same
stories over and over again, but that was okay. Because when the day came,
those stories would be lost unless I knew them well, good enough to be able to tell the stories to my children and grandchildren. And I have to admit that on days
like today, I wish that I could sit with my grandfathers and hear them tell
those same old stories one more time.
I find that we sometimes have
a short attention span when it comes to what the seniors around us have to say.
It is almost as if we believe something that happened a few decades ago couldn't possibly impact our lives today. If we believe that, then we are
mistaken. We need to be willing to sit with our elders and just listen to their
stories; we need to hear everything they want to tell us.
The Psalmist has a simple
request of his God. As he grows older, he wants God to protect his life or not let
him die until his task is complete. That means he wants to live until all the God stories he
has accumulated in his life have been told. The Psalmist doesn't want the mighty acts of God to be lost in the pages
of history. He knows
that he has God
stories that need to be told.
But it is more than that; telling the story is only half the equation. The other part of the
equation is that you have an audience willing to listen. And that includes me.
Actually, it is only when we are very young that we are strictly the listeners in this equation. For the
rest of our lives, we exist in a balance where we are both the storyteller and
the listener. We tell God's stories and listen to the tales God has placed in others. But this whole process depends on having someone willing to
listen and on those with a God story to tell. I am lucky because I have both of these people in my life. And yes, sometimes I hear or
even tell the same stories repeatedly. But that is okay because all of our stories are
important and need
to be told, even if it is told repeatedly.
Today's Scripture Reading: Psalms
92 & 93
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