My eighty-seven-year-old parents recently celebrated 65 years of marriage and 73 years together. They started dating when they were thirteen and haven’t stopped since. Dad gives Mom flowers every week—which wasn’t easy during the pandemic when he had to rely on others to pick out pretty flowers with their online grocery order. He tells her daily how pretty she is. They pray every night when they get in bed.
Two years ago, my parents moved to Texas at their children’s insistence – leaving behind their lovely home and friends in Colorado. Relocating and starting over to establish a community has been difficult for them, but they amaze me with their desire to do so.
One of the most important things they did after they moved was find a church. It took a few tries, but they have landed in a church they can both agree on and love. They have friends that care about them.
As with most 87-year-olds, they have aches and ailments that often make everyday tasks difficult – and often painful but they get up and out the door for church on Sundays and Bible study on Tuesdays. Dad even sometimes attends a men’s group during the week. I know able-bodied young people who have not returned to church since Covid, so I applaud my parents’ desire to attend church regularly.
My Dad recently shared a letter a lady they don’t know handed them one Sunday. She walked over, gave them a folded piece of paper, and said, “Read this later,” and walked away. The letter touched me deeply and I asked permission to make copies for my siblings and my children. The letter blessed me and I knew it would bless them too.
To My Brother and Sister in Christ –
It gives me such joy and encouragement to see the two of you raising hands and worshipping the Lord with such feeling and faith…
My grandparents stopped attending church when life got undeservedly hard in the older age…
I tell you this to thank you. Thank you for being faithful and not quitting. I’ve cared for many seniors in hospitals. I know the body aches and often feels tired as people age. Thank you for coming to worship as God wants anyway!
It is a powerful example to me, a reassuring testimony to those of us who are younger…that nothing stops you from your Sundays with God!
This is but a snippet of the double-sided notebook paper the woman filled with gratefulness. I am so thankful she took the time to write it, walk up to strangers, and hand it to them. It is often difficult for my parents to attend church each week, but they do it.
I’m grateful for a legacy of faith handed down to me by my parents and grandparents. I know that is not the case for many people and I don’t take it lightly. The profound blessing of having a faith heritage is a big deal. So many of my friends cannot claim an elderly- inspired faith.
My faith was formed when I tagged along with my grandmother to church functions or attended church with any of my four grandparents. I often marveled at how my grandmother would sing the old hymns without once glancing down at the hymnal – singing with her heart and soul. I loved seeing my grandfathers serve on Sundays.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
One of my grandfather’s conversations with me probably helped me avoid a difficult marriage. He never preached to me. He just talked to me and asked questions as we “sat at home and walked (or drove) on the road.”
My parents talked about Jesus when we “went to bed and when we were getting up.”
My grandparents and parents lived out their faith and I am trying to keep the legacy of faith for the generations to come in my family.
But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9
We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. Psalms 78:4-6
So, what if you don’t have a legacy of faith? Well, YOU can start that for your children and their children. YOU can be the person whose grandchild someday talks about you making a difference in their life. YOU can tell the next generation about the “glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.”
Love this and the example being set. Both by your parents and the woman who shared the letter!
This just made my day!