When We Were When

Dennis and I attended the lovely memorial service of a very dear older saint from our church yesterday. Esther was a joy and a delight to know and had a great sense of humor… I love that about her and I will miss her. The family had many pictures of this woman who lived 86 years. Esther’s life peeking out to all of us from cherished and yellowed two-dimensional snapshots.

I always love the pictures families’ display of loved ones when they were young. Beautiful, strong, vibrant faces stare back with an excited anticipation of so much life ahead of them. A twinkle in the eye, a coy smile just for the one taking the picture…and yet for others many years later. You can see fun and humor, orneriness and a little bit of a rebel stance at times. They were going to conquer the world and make it better.

Holding hands with boyfriends and girlfriends who were to become husbands and wives. Holding first babies and then a family picture of four or more. Family members point and say “this was when”…”when they”…memories bringing back to life, for just a moment, the younger years and journeys traveled.

Later in the day, Dennis and I spent the evening with my sister and brother in law (Candy and Ronnie). It was a very typical evening for the four of us. Dinner and movie. Sometimes it is dinner and playing cards, but not so much card playing anymore.

On the way home Dennis and I were talking about what a nice time we had…that we always have a nice time together. We talked about the younger years with them (almost 40 years ago now) when we helped paint an old house late into the night with floodlights. We were hungry and the only place open was White Castles… Ronnie got very sick on those White Castles and to my knowledge has never eaten another since. We laughed about the time Ronnie and Dennis almost killed themselves running down a steep hill on a weekend get-a- way. We laughed, shook our heads at the antics of our youth and got quiet as we drove the long drive home.

As I looked out the car window through the orbs of shiny raindrops, while only hearing the lone whine of the wind and swish swish swish of the windshield wipers…I realized that Candy and Ronnie are the very few left that knew and hung out with Den and I when we were young.

Growing old has a way of creeping up on you when you least expect it. Grandparents are gone and all of the sudden parents are gone…and we are left. Our children and grandchildren are growing older. Not far from retirement and 70 seems so much younger than it did 20 years ago.

For one brief moment…I was saddened by the reality of our passing years. For one brief moment..I was troubled that so few knew us when.

Then I remembered…

Though we grow old on the outside…the inward man and woman in Christ grows stronger and stronger each day. Why do we look back and think our youth was the crowning glory of life? Why be anxious about who knew us when?

Scripture tells me differently….

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.” Proverbs 16:31 (NIV)

“I have created you and cared for you since you were born. I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you.” Isaiah 46:3b-4a LB

God always has a way of gently bringing into focus that which is important…which will last more than this lifetime….


*Accompanying picture of Den and I in 1971.