She grabbed my hand to thank me. Earlier that day, I had spoken at a luncheon for “Senior Saints” in the church. As she held my hand, tears brimming, she said, “Thank you for conveying to us how valuable we are to the Church; for calling us the ‘wisdom’ of the church body.”
I keep hearing her words in my head. I long to see older women coming alongside the younger. They could be such a blessing to the younger generation, but I wonder if they’re hesitant because they don’t think they have anything to offer . . .
Or perhaps they feel no one would listen.
When I travel to other countries, I see those who’ve lived long and full lives being respected for their knowledge and life experience. Our culture celebrates youth to the exclusion of our elders—and we are reaping the consequences of that silence.
We need to hear from those who’ve traveled life’s road much longer than we and glean from what they’ve learned through their years of living out the Truth of the Word. I long to hear from a woman in her eighties about how I can love Christ more. I want to hear older women talk about what they’ve seen God do, the prayers He’s answered; to rejoice with them over victories and be encouraged by their faithfulness.
All of us are in the “older woman” category in some sense—we all have younger women coming behind us—but I still consider myself young and needy enough to reach for input from elders.
Any suggestions on how we can encourage the older generation to share their wisdom?
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