It’s a generational thing. Or so I would say when I remember the “good old days” — which obviously included rainbow Furbies, frosted tip highlights, snap bracelets and butterfly hair clips. Paired with neon sparkle jelly shoes.
I prefer homemade, written cards to flowers, and often refer to my elders as “ma’am” and “sir.” I hold the door open for the person behind me, and most always the person after that. I deeply understand the value of a dollar, and am aware of how much work it takes to earn a single one.
I make recipes from scratch, rather than from the assistance of Duncan Hines or Marie Calendar. I prefer face-to-face conversation over texting, and coloring over Angry Birds on the iPad. I believe that time spent with family, and friends for that matter, should mean time well spent — not time spent texting, tattling, or tweeting.
You may be reading this, thinking, “Well, that’s dumb. I’d take flowers any day over a card. Ma’am and Sir are my Grandparents. I know the value of a dollar in regards to the number of packages of ramen noodles I can purchase. Scratch? I don’t have an itch! What would life be without a microwave?! Hello, I burn ice. Angry Birds is my jam, and texting trumps all — partly because the amount of emojis I use accurately depict my facial reactions without me having to gain wrinkles. Last, real friends tweet together. Obvi.”
Whether you’re 19, 39, or 89, when the common denominator is Jesus, I’ve learned that when different generations come together, it’s a movement more powerful than words itself.
Today’s worldly culture teaches us that in most cases, less is more — whether referring to our clothing (#ShirtDresses) or our basic common sense (#YOLO), that seeing is, in fact, believing, and unless you have status, money or power, then … there’s a chance you might be less of a person.
Our job as Christians isn’t to fit the mold of the world — it’s to break it. Generation after generation.
It’s to spread the gospel that although we physically can’t see God, it is because of Him that we can see. That it is not status, money or power which makes a person wealthy in God’s eyes; “Go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage — to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life,” (1 Timothy 6:18-19, MSG).
Webster’s define generation as, “the production of something.” Let’s continue to be a generation that produces and carries out the love of Christ. To our elders and our peers. To our teachers and our mentors.
To strangers and atheists. To each other.
Trust me on this: if we do that, we will be more successful than dial-up internet, Pez dispensers and Nokia flip phones.
Lauren Simms has Jesus by the hand, and He’s leading her heart on a journey that’s full of faith, trust, and -of course – pixie dust.