Elders Journal

 

Patches

 

                   As the years have waned away and now I am older, there are some memories of my youth that seem to come forth with regularity. There are many lessons to live by when I recall so many “conservative out of neccessity” routines our family followed on the farm where I grew up! Even though we usually went “barefooted” in the summer, I remember putting cardboard in my shoes or boots waiting for a new pair coming before winter and going back to school. My younger brother and I sometimes wore hand-me-down clothes from our older brother but, each year, by God’s grace, we all got new clothes and shoes for school and church.

                            Our mother knew how to use a sewing machine and even made some of our summer clothes. She patched the holes in our jeans and shirts so we could wear them another season. We were not poor but our parents knew how to manage money, time, and other resourses we had! We knew “how to make it” on less than most families. So, what have I learned by remembering those experiences?

                             When you live long enough, you notice how all the tangible elements we know will eventually decay, rot, mildew, rust, or mold and disappear, at least in its natural form! They all follow one of the natural laws of “thermodynamics.” We call it “wearing out”! No wonder most of us can get depressed about this! However, the Creator God has a remedy for all the degredation that sin has brought upon us!

                            In the Bible He reminds us of what we see happening all around us and then clarifies the hope He offers! “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be abolished.” Isaiah 51:6

 

 Profound words for a weary traveler looking for hope in a better land.

 

Melvin Brannon