While in Bulgaria a few weeks ago we visited the only nursing home in Sliven, a city of more than 90,000.
There was about 120 residents who were from the area in and around Sliven. These folk were kind, gentle, granparently people much like the senior citizens of Shawnee.
One lady was hard of hearing but had a sharp mind and memory. She took no medication, walked briskly and was 105 years old. The things this little lady had seen in her life would fill a book. Life under the stress of communism, gardening, hard winters and the face of a new Bulgaria.
What a wealth of knowledge is surrounding us each day. Wrinkled, gray, stooped but these are the very age spotted hands that passed the baton of prosperity to our generation. Many have endured war, depression era, dust bowls, isolation and life without computers.
I watch them volunteer at the hospital daily. They work hard, give much, ask little, complain seldom and whether in auxiliary or chaplaincy, we depend on them. Until recently 102-year-old John Merrill volunteered.
I saw him at the Little Olympics helping out. His presence is an inspiration. Tom Stephenson, 89 years old, chaplain volunteer, never misses chapel. James Maxwell, near 80, still prays with patients. Look at all the sweet ladies greeting, sorting, guiding and helping in a million ways.
I gather at the PAL meeting each month at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center as the seniors coffee up, chow down and reach out. The thing that is most evident in each meeting is their appreciation.
Sometimes this generation lacks. Yes, they are the walkers at the mall, the porch sitters on the summer evening and if you are able to listen, the sharers of good wisdom.
They gather early at Carl’s Jr. and other local places to sip coffee and talk about the good ol’ days. Men, women blend at the Senior Citizens Center daily forming a fellowship that is nearly family. Whether in Bulgaria or Shawnee our mature generation deserves some respect, recognition, and, above all, a little time.
Remember, Moses didn’t lead the Israelites out of Egypt until he was 80 years old. Col. Harlan Sanders was on retirement when he started his KFC business. Never say too old, there’s a lot of ideas, input and resources left.
The Psalmist wrote, “Do not forsake me when I am old and gray.” Psalms 71:18. God will not forsake, neither should we.
Editor’s Note: This guest editorial is offered by Larry Sparks a member of The Shawnee News-Star Editorial Advisory Board. He is also chaplain at Unity Hospital and is pastor of the New Beginnings Church in Shawnee.
