The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

It’s good to be home visiting, checking in with family.  

It’s a blessing to be old enough with appreciation of life and the past and yet young enough to have tools of knowledge and curiosity and yet realize you can’t remember or record everything… The curiosity skills can serve you well at any age,  even if you only get snippets of info, and sometimes that’s enough. It becomes clear, especially at generational discussions (otherwise known as the kitchen table at older family gatherings), that even with formal education and general upward moment, that each generation loses as much as it gains in knowledge, maybe loses more. 

My aunt, like my mom, is a wealth of knowledge, but we can’t capture but a snippet of family history, let alone local history, agricultural history, construction practices, friends and family and cultural sharing resources, and all the volumes of “how it was in the good old days” – which were pretty hard too and bad sometimes! Actually life in the late 1800s was TOUGH, made the 1950s look like dream living. Life in the 50’s was also tough, so how dare we complain about today!

Within my aunt’s farmhouse saving collections upon collections of 3 plus generations, there are items of my great grandparents and their siblings. Items of importance and not. It’s taking much sorting through the 1970s 1980s 1990s excessive living to dig down deep, deep to 80’s, 50’s, 20’s… And finding Items like a birthday calendar book is a treat. I can capture the info succinctly for future reference with my phone, but the act of these items curated is a caring and personal collection feeling. Tidbits like birthdays and weddings including mine were written on pages of proverbs and scripture. 

“The secret to success is constancy of purpose.”  YES!

“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” YES! (This is wisdom from Benjamin Franklin that shows up on my birthday page.)

We also found my great grandfather’s union dues book from 1920’s, my great grandmother’s census ID card from 1917. Interesting times back then and well documented if you invest the time to learn. 

There is a good PBS documentary about “The Gilded Age”, but I believe that we should consider our age: “THE GIFTED AGE.” – Because we can see history and we can remember that it’s important to remember. 

One last treasure to tell you is of an item, not gold or money, that I found: pressed leaves and penny plant seeds in a newspaper from last century. We always collected these as a kid and generations have… It’s not valuable stuff that is most important to us often. Perhaps that’s our best “gifted generational item, it’s our memories of people and family and love.

The scripture I love from the book of birthdays: “Little children abide in Him.” And John as an old man was writing to the younger generations 2000 years ago, we must do the same… Don’t love the world, but do love the people in the world…

Amen

—

1John 2:14-17, 24-28

I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

On Not Loving the World

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

…

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

—

FYI

“The Gilded Age | Full Documentary | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | PBS” on YouTube