A Masterpiece of Mutual Appreciation

 Today I have so much beautiful and fruitful thoughts bouncing around my head. There's likely three or four posts worth of ideas and it's pretty refreshing.

So thanks for meeting me here. I've just gotten back from a chai date with a family friend who was especially close to my mother, and now extends a mother bond to me. She's older than my mum was, and there's definitely a level of respect for her as someone older than myself, but really in our relationship I've found a great place of helpful rebuke mixed with the space for me to be cheeky and... well... myself.

Yesterday I messaged her. In recent times, since my mum had passed away, I would often come to this lady and just vent. Cry, maybe. But it was oftentimes about me and my life. Yesterday I asked if I could take her out for a beverage break. My intention was to give back. To let her talk. I felt convicted to give that space to her.

And I'm glad I followed through. What happened was a beautiful display of vulnerability and also of joy that I had never unceasingly given attention to. She shared with me the moments of humility God was walking her through, the times of great joy and great disappointment. The ways in which God would say "I want you to do this" even though decades of a limited viewpoint had screeched "no! You must not!" at her.  She was starting to see the way that God continues to navigate the brokenness of us by using the broken pieces and molding it all into something new. God can use the straight word as found in the Bible, but He can also use a takeaway lesson from a Netflix show. He can use the writings of Christian thought leaders and the presence of a 29 year old woman in a café. 

He can use anything and everything. There's nothing new under the sun. But what is most interesting to me is just the actual relationship in front I have with this woman. 

There are many trains of thought on the intergenerational friendship. Faith communities especially aim to prioritise it. We recognise that in life in general, learning from the wisdom of people older than you is valuable. But especially as it comes to life lessons about spirituality, faith, and God - wow oh wow, the things you can learn!

But here's the thing: it's a two way street. So many young people have learned patience from the elderly, and so many that are older are learning lessons they've taken years from the simple wisdom of teenagers, children, and the smile of a newborn.

We articulated the value our friendship had to one another today, but it was even more evidenced that intergenerational connection is important when she told me something beautiful about herself: that, getting pregnant before marriage, her mother had been shunned by her parents. It was when the simple face and smile of this woman as a newborn was seen by her grandfather that it all changed. His heart melted, not just for the woman who would decades later sit beside me in a coffee shop on the other side of the world, but for his daughter who he had 

A baby was used by God to melt the heart of a man who had hardened it against his own daughter. 

We are, at all points in this life, integral to God's plan of healing hearts. Never for a moment think that your age or experience separates you from being able to speak into the life of another. You are God's chosen. He literally said "yes, we need _____ to exist in the world. They MUST live. This world will not be whole without them" when He planned out this universe. 

You at age four, allowing adults a break from the stresses of the world with your cute and hilarious behaviour.

You at fifteen, in trusting a teacher, allowed that teacher to be blessed with the opportunity to speak into another person's life.

You at twenty-five, spending those extra hours with your grandfather when he could so easily just be relegated to the aged care facility he lives in (that three hour round trip you make every few weeks mean more than you'll ever know).

You at any age. At any time. A blessing. Necessary. Invaluable. Treasured. 

And here is why we are called to see one another as brothers and sisters when united by God's love. Because at the end of the day, beyond human constructions of what age means for our interactions, God's calling to our lives equips us and encourages us to recognise these things about ourselves. 

So spend that hour in a café with that older person. Shout them a hot drink, give them space to speak of their challenges and achievements. And let them pour back into your life, too. We're all just doing this thing called life with different lessons along the way. There's no rhyme or rhythm of consistency in it all, which is why we're just to place ourselves in the hands of a God that will put us in the right place at the right time with the right people.

A masterpiece of mutual appreciation.