From our choir loft at church you can look out across the sanctuary to the glass front doors, and see people climb the front steps and enter the building. Last night as we sat in the choir practicing before evening service, a tall, lanky young woman made her way up the steps and into the church. As she approached, someone said these words, "Here comes Sam! Prepare to be hugged!"
Most everyone knows Sam here. Sam grew up on a horse ranch a few miles outside our small town, riding from the time she was very small. A few years ago she suffered a devastating fall from a horse that affected her both physically and mentally. Since that time, she has grown up (over 6 feet tall!) into a beautiful young lady. Last night as I watched her at church, I could not help but think of the definition of "enthusiasm".
When she enters the room, everyone is instantly her friend and should "prepare to be hugged". If your shirt needs tugging down a bit, she will walk right up and do it for you. As she sat in the sanctuary last night listening to a message of hope and faith, her enthusiasm could not help but bubble over into smiles and amens. When the pastor described Christ's love and sacrifice, Sam clapped her hands and said "That's awesome!'. That I thought, is true enthusiasm.
The word enthusiasm comes from the term "en theos" or "in God". According to Wikipedia, an enthusiast is a person inspired by God. When the early Christians would see someone convert to Christianity there was this overwhelming joy that followed the gift of salvation, but they had a problem. There was no word to describe this feeling so they combined the two words (in God) creating the word (entheos) from which we get the English word enthusiasm. So originally, someone who was enthusiastic literally had God bubbling up out of them. God was in them, and it could not help but show on the outside.
Sometimes what we need in our churches and our lives is a little enthusiasm. Today the word is defined as simply being excited about what one is engaged in. Enthusiasm, either by the original or the modern definition, is sorely lacking. I love this quote from Douglas MacArthur:
Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
We may wrinkle on the outside, but far too many are wrinkled on the inside. If anyone should have enthusiasm, it is Christians, who literally have God within. Too often we slather on creams and sunscreen to fight wrinkles on our skin, but we do little to screen out the things that wrinkle our soul.
I have many things to do this week, some that are seemingly routine and trivial, others that are much more important. I pray that I do all of them with enthusiasm. And I thank God that Sam showed up with a smile and a hug to remind me of the true definition.
Showing posts with label aging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aging. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
It All "Depends"...
Last night I experienced a wonderful example of how attitude is everything. Our women's group, mostly aged 40+, met to have special prayer for missionaries during Easter week. As we sat together chatting as ladies do, someone mentioned all the flu-type sickness that has been going around our church, our town, and our state. Somehow the topic evolved into a discussion of coughing, coughing fits, and eventually morphed into the subject of *ahem* spasmodic urinary incontinence. It seems that this is a universal experience among women of a certain age. Yes, there we were all sharing stories of times we either coughed or laughed so hard that we wet our pants! We smiled and laughed at ourselves and each other, and all agreed that "age happens".
I later thought, how wonderfully upbeat this was, and what an example of attitude being so important. Age happens, and we can react in two ways. We can bemoan the fact that things fall apart (and fall south) or we can find others going through the same changes and laugh together about it instead. (When the eyes start to fail a bit, why not treat those new glasses as a fashion accessory instead of a flaw of age? It's all in the attitude!) For some reason, I am much more comfortable with myself at 40+ than I was at 20, when everything was in just the right place. Maybe it's more that my head is in the right place now instead of my body.
I had always heard the poem "When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple". Now I understand that she was talking about the veins in her legs! I think this is the inspiration for The Red Hat Society, an organization of women facing middle age with humor and style. Well, my ladies and I, we have our own group and we have that same attitude. Except I guess you can call us The Wet Pants Society! As I said, it all "depends" on your attitude...
I later thought, how wonderfully upbeat this was, and what an example of attitude being so important. Age happens, and we can react in two ways. We can bemoan the fact that things fall apart (and fall south) or we can find others going through the same changes and laugh together about it instead. (When the eyes start to fail a bit, why not treat those new glasses as a fashion accessory instead of a flaw of age? It's all in the attitude!) For some reason, I am much more comfortable with myself at 40+ than I was at 20, when everything was in just the right place. Maybe it's more that my head is in the right place now instead of my body.
I had always heard the poem "When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple". Now I understand that she was talking about the veins in her legs! I think this is the inspiration for The Red Hat Society, an organization of women facing middle age with humor and style. Well, my ladies and I, we have our own group and we have that same attitude. Except I guess you can call us The Wet Pants Society! As I said, it all "depends" on your attitude...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Things We Leave Behind
Last week my husband's grandmother passed away. She was 93 years old, and suffering from alzheimer's. For what seems like many long months, she did not recognize any family members, including her own son.
This weekend some time was spent going through a portion of her belongings, the things she left behind. My father-in-law pulled out two drawers from a chest and asked us to look through them and see if there was anything we would like to have. I wish I could show you actual pictures of the items, but here is a partial list:
A card signed by President Ronald Reagan, on the occasion of her 50th wedding anniversary.
Some old ration books from WWII.
Several Native American dolls and books, reflecting her Choctaw Indian heritage.
Many old spools of thread and needle books.
Postcards and brochures from places around the world that she and her husband had traveled to.
Various pieces of costume jewelry.
A pair of Mickey and Minnie dolls, a reminder of years spent living in southern California and many trips to Disneyland.
Among the other items, three stood out the most to me. One my father-in-law had already removed, one we found that day in the drawer, and one that I looked for but could not find.
In that same drawer several weeks ago, my FIL had found a small envelope containing a piece of paper and a stick about 5" long. The paper said, in his mother's handwriting "This is a stick our little Jeff played with. May 1964". For over 40 years she had saved a piece of stick that my husband played with as a toddler. She loved him so much. My FIL put the little stick and the note in a frame as a keepsake.
Another item that stood out was a letter from her husband she had saved. Just a short note written on a plain piece of white paper. He worked as a welder in a California shipyard and often was away from home. The note was brief, "I can't wait til Friday when I can hold you in my arms again..." It contained a few other sweet sentiments, and ended with these words: "You are my good woman. Love, Bill". That is a beautiful testimony of their life together, over 60 years of marriage before he passed away.
The last item I looked for but did not find. It may have been thrown away, sold at auction, or may still be packed away somewhere. I hope to find it, because it is the one thing of hers that I really would love to have. A small wooden sign, hung with brown cord, with these words: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." That summed up my husband's grandmother to me.
The things she left behind showed that she loved her family, her family loved her, and that being nice in this world was more valuable than being important. Those are pretty good things to leave behind.
This weekend some time was spent going through a portion of her belongings, the things she left behind. My father-in-law pulled out two drawers from a chest and asked us to look through them and see if there was anything we would like to have. I wish I could show you actual pictures of the items, but here is a partial list:
A card signed by President Ronald Reagan, on the occasion of her 50th wedding anniversary.
Some old ration books from WWII.
Several Native American dolls and books, reflecting her Choctaw Indian heritage.
Many old spools of thread and needle books.
Postcards and brochures from places around the world that she and her husband had traveled to.
Various pieces of costume jewelry.
A pair of Mickey and Minnie dolls, a reminder of years spent living in southern California and many trips to Disneyland.
Among the other items, three stood out the most to me. One my father-in-law had already removed, one we found that day in the drawer, and one that I looked for but could not find.
In that same drawer several weeks ago, my FIL had found a small envelope containing a piece of paper and a stick about 5" long. The paper said, in his mother's handwriting "This is a stick our little Jeff played with. May 1964". For over 40 years she had saved a piece of stick that my husband played with as a toddler. She loved him so much. My FIL put the little stick and the note in a frame as a keepsake.
Another item that stood out was a letter from her husband she had saved. Just a short note written on a plain piece of white paper. He worked as a welder in a California shipyard and often was away from home. The note was brief, "I can't wait til Friday when I can hold you in my arms again..." It contained a few other sweet sentiments, and ended with these words: "You are my good woman. Love, Bill". That is a beautiful testimony of their life together, over 60 years of marriage before he passed away.
The last item I looked for but did not find. It may have been thrown away, sold at auction, or may still be packed away somewhere. I hope to find it, because it is the one thing of hers that I really would love to have. A small wooden sign, hung with brown cord, with these words: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." That summed up my husband's grandmother to me.
The things she left behind showed that she loved her family, her family loved her, and that being nice in this world was more valuable than being important. Those are pretty good things to leave behind.
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