One of the nice things about getting older is recalling the vast storehouse of experiences life has given us. I say “nice” because these experiences, when they are recalled, have a certain softness to them different than when we first experienced them. Their sharp edges have been rounded by time and history to the point where they can be experienced as “lessons” rather than just intense moments of joy or sorrow. These “lessons” bring wisdom.
Moments of joy for example . . . winning the game, falling in love, getting that job, your first born child . . . in their “remembered state” speak of more than just a brief happy occasion. They point to “Life” in general, its beauty and power. In the accumulated weight of these moments we begin to see what we couldn’t in the blinding light of the moment. We begin to appreciate our lives as a gift.
And moments of sorrow? They too are softened over time . . . a broken relationship, a career failure, sickness, financial trouble . . . to where they are no longer the devastating, destroying final verdict on our lives they were once thought to be. “Look what’s happened and I’m still standing!”
After all has come and gone, the good and the bad, we begin to see what remains . . . what lasts, what’s most important. And what is that? Friends and family of course.. . and Faith in God who has created all this. Life really does get simpler, doesn’t it? And time, that diminishing resource, becomes more precious.
So what do you do with all this wisdom and experience? (Don’t you wish what you know now … you knew back then?!) May I suggest you pass it along. Give it to our young people. Don’t you find the older you get the more tender are the feelings toward our young ones just starting out? You know what they’re going through. You’ve been there. It’s scary at times.
Help them. Encourage them. Let them know that it’s going to work out. Somehow it all works out.
Lastly, please remember those who have been your mentors: parents, teachers, role models who have gone before you. Do you think they’ve stopped pulling for you – – – rooting for you? No way! They love you even more than before. Why?
Because they love you totally in Christ.
God bless you and help you . . . to remember.
Fr. Tim
