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"A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness" (Prov. 16:31).

During my 39 years on this earth, the Lord has been immeasurably good to me.  God has particularly blessed me by giving me wise grandparents.  While all my grandparents have now gone on to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ, I still carry with me so much wisdom passed down from them. 

Grandaddy "Mc" was my fishing buddy.  He died back in the early 80s when I was a young boy.  But my memories of him are vivid.  He was so fun to be around.  He had such a joy for life and a knack for making a good time out of the simplest of things.  Like fishing.  He even managed to laugh when I caught a snapping turtle that almost took his finger off one day!  He taught me how to relax and enjoy the day God is giving me . . . though it has taken me many years to really begin to learn how to live out this wisdom!  I have not always relaxed and enjoyed life before God, but I am learning.

It was also always a joy to be with my Papaw Wilkie.  He had a good joke or two or three waiting on me with each arrival.  His wit and sense of humor were amazing, and his writing skills are something I can still only aspire to gaining.  He wrote articles for many newspapers in NC and elsewhere.  His favorite article was probably the one he wrote for the NC Baptist Children's Homes paper, Charity & Children.  Papaw never met a stranger.  He taught me by example how to treat all people with dignity, humor, and good old-fashioned hospitality.

Nannie Wilkie was perhaps the most "stately" woman I've ever known.  So elegant and so kind.  She took great delight in cooking up a fine meal for all us hungry grandkids, and in her later years, great-grandkids!  She excelled at keeping in touch with me over the years, no matter how far away I was, via her hand-written cards and letters.  I learned the value of hand-writing cards, which I still try to do today as a pastor.  In this age of tweeting, texting and tooting, there still is no substitute for a thoughtful, hand-written card. 

Mamaw "Mc" was the grandparent I got to spend the most time around.  She was a treasure.  I loved to see her in the mornings with her open Bible and hot cup of coffee.  She loved to ask me questions about the Bible and theology, right up 'til her death.  She was a simple mountain woman, but a life-long learner, which is the essence of a disciple.  She had more common "horse sense" in her little finger than a public school full of "know-it-all" seniors. 

All my grandparents taught me so much, most of all, what it meant to love Jesus and walk with Him through life's valleys and peaks.  It was wonderful to know them and see them growing stronger in faith in their final years on this planet.

Recently, I have had the joy of visiting some precious older saints of God in hospitals.  I took my family with me, which I highly recommend to every single Christian parent out there, by the way!  Public schools do not "socialize" your children.  Putting kids together with same-age kids does not in any way prepare them for real service to real people in a really broken world. 

Take your children to listen to an 86 year old lady say, "The Lord has held my hand my whole life."  Let them see that same lady wracked in pain, say with big tears filing her eyes, "I want to be in church so badly."  Let them hear a man going blind tell you how much he desires to be able to donate his shoes (which he no longer needs) to the church clothing ministry because he wants others to have them who might not otherwise be able to afford them.  Let your family see a feeble, white-haired man holding the pastor's (my) hand tightly, not wanting to let go, and gasping into my ear that he prays for me every day.  Listen to your family bless a hurting saint and nurses standing in the halls by singing "Amazing Grace" around his bedside. 

Oh friends, there is no subsistute for God's wisdom passed down by saints who have walked with Him longer than we have been alive!  Don't let your families miss out on these opportunities to be a blessing, but mostly to be blessed by our elderly church members. 

God says, "A gray head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness." 

Are we listening?