Community Begins at Home

Have you ever listened to older relatives talk about their lives?  

A great loss for many children is the absence of Grandparents. Older people with their understanding and experience of life: how they lived it, situations they endured, how they lived their faith, what they learned, what they overcame, how and why. Stories from familiar folks who have lived a life, talk about it and show how some things, especially their beliefs and honesty, can apply to a grandchild’s life today.

Seniors have a responsibility to share their Christianity and life experiences with younger family (Deuteronomy 11:18-19 & Psalm 78:2-4); reminiscing on the attitudes, actions and tools they used to lead a successful, ethical life within the situation they lived. What they did with a given issue, why, and how it turned out with the resources they had.

The old stories may not register their true meaning with a child until years later when they’re faced with a similar situation. Like memorized Bible verses; when life gets muddy those verses and stories can pop up to provide good guidance.

Us elderly folks should be understanding though; being judgmental of others or telling them what to do is counter-productive – that will only cause anger, close ears and drive people away, especially younger folks. Social changes are happening rapidly and anyone’s situation could be very different than ours, people are different, peer pressure is often overwhelming and society is certainly different than the one we grew up in. But mature folks will have good knowledge of what worked and what did not work in their life. Younger family would do well to listen and consider how those real-life experiences could be used in their life situations arising in today’s world (Proverbs 1:7-9).

How can you take what’s been learned about successful living within your family and share it with others in your community?

Some folks may not have the elder resources you’ve been blessed with. Many have grown up in a bad situation, some may not have family available and possibly no idea of what Christianity and love truly are. Perhaps there’s seniors living alone who could enrich families that don’t have older folks around.

Sharing selected family stories with others will help build trust, companionship and community as real stories are traded amongst local folks. A community where trust lives, where Christians and non-Christians can learn to talk about life and faith with each other. Community really does begin at home with ordinary people honestly sharing their lives in person – no electronics involved, as electrical communication isolates people and makes any message less personal.

 A very good way of building community in your neighborhood is gently talking with and listening to the people around you – share your stories and many will be shared back. Please explore groups at your local library, if you’re fortunate enough to have one, if not a favorite park could also provide. Libraries and local parks can be excellent places to find or begin community.