Articles
Don’t Pass Up The Opportunities
During my elementary school years, I remember having two assignments that required
me to talk to older members of my family. One assignment asked about our ancestry, and I
talked to a Great Uncle about my mother’s side of the family. He told me about Grandparents,
Great Grandparents and Great Great Grandparents, some of which were full blooded Indians.
During that conversation, he told me about the first car he remembered seeing, a steam powered
car that drove into town one day while he was a child.
The second assignment was to interview my Grandparents. We were given a list of
questions to ask as conversation starters. We were to write down the answers and turn them in.
Looking back on that time years later, I wish I had taken the assignment more seriously and kept
a copy of the questions and answers. Recently I came across a similar list of questions that
started me down memory lane.
Questions to ask your grandparents. ■ What is your earliest memory? ■ What television
programs did you watch as a child? ■ What are the three most interesting things about you? ■
What is your favorite family tradition? ■ What three words do you think best describe our
family? ■ What is the best job you ever had? ■ What traits do you most admire in other people?
■ What things do you think you cannot live without?
While I wish I had the answers to the questions from my assignment, I really wish I
would have talked more to my Grandparents about their faith. The Bible is quite clear about the
younger generations respecting and learning from the older generation (Matthew 19:19,
Ephesians 6:1-3, 1 Timothy 5:1-2, Titus 2:1-6). “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in
length of days” (Job 12:12). We need to take advantage of the time we have with those who are
older than us. One day we will wake up and we will be the older generation. Don’t you want to
be treated with respect when it’s your turn? ~ Brad Tolbert
