"Trending" seems to be a word we hear a lot. To sell your product or even yourself, paying attention to what is trending and getting yourself that title seems to be the name of the game.
Since the rise of the internet, the trends seem to change at rapid speed. The culture has shifted from generations to micro-generations and with each new shift, old age gets younger and younger.
I am blessed by two amazing gifts in my past. When I was 7, my mom and I moved in with my grandpa and I spent four years of my childhood living with him and spending time with his sisters. It wasn't your typical childhood, but its an experience that I more deeply cherish the older I get. I was given an appreciation for people at a variety of ages and the traditions that can be passed down.
The other gift was travel. My parents divorced when I was two, but my dad's military career meant that summers where spent wherever the Army sent him. The last two years of high school, I got the privilege of living with him in Germany. Travel birthed in me an admiration for different. I love seeing the many ways "normal" is played out among people groups and cultures around the globe.
Sure I love to have my way, but I also have an ability to see how the contrast from others can add to my life and my perspective.
Recently, I've had some conversations that touch on this subject. We tend to think if something isn't now its not worthwhile. That couldn't be further from the truth. Each generation has a skill the ones that bookend it don't have. The best value comes when we come together.
Family is an excellent example. We don't kick grandma out when she gets too old, grandma always has her place. From birth to death, each age presents a gift that is best treasured when we are together.
In the church I hear people who are older getting upset when change is mentioned. They don't want to add the newer ideas to their rituals, but never changing is not a sustainable model.
On the other end of the spectrum is younger people saying that church must fit a list of the latest offerings. This perspective is just the same as their older counterparts. Demanding church be your way fails to appreciate each other. It fails to embrace different and to love your brother you first must see him. Instead we must all ask, "how can we take old and new and create something wonderful?"
If we fail to see the gifts in those different from us than we miss the point of the gospel itself. "For God so loved the world (not just a subsection of it) that he gave his one an only son..." (John 3:16)
Getting the view of all of God's people expands our view of God. I'm not saying we all agree or rubber stamp every choice but I am saying that your perspective should include a broader view than your own personal box.
How can you apply this to your life today or decisions that have yet to be made? Are you bucking an idea just because its different without further examination of its merits? Are you dismissing someone in your life because they are too old or too young? Let's quit using those labels and see the people without the descriptors. See who they are.
Happy Wednesday!
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