A Picture of a Past Generation

My niece Missy sent me some copies of old photos she found among her parents’ pictures from the past. I’ve been enjoying them. They caused me to realize anew how quickly time flies and people and places we took for granted pass right along with time. This picture, for example, is of two cousins, a future brother-in-law, and my brother. It was made in 1949. These men were young, energetic, with the whole world before them. I’ve noticed a certain attitude from that generation, a “nothing is too tough for us”, a “we can do it” aura, an optimism, a sort of determination with a smile. Life did not always go smoothly for them but that was okay. They didn’t run from problems. If something was wrong, they’d fix it.  I like that. 

This is the second day of a brand-new month. sixty-seven years later. Times have changed. New generations have been born, new problems beset us as a Nation, as a family, as individuals. It’s good to look back at how past generations handled things. Problems still press in, seemingly from every side. We can’t do anything about that, but we can control the way we look at them, encounter them, and surmount them. What would those guys I looked up to think about today?

As I’ve grown older (much older than the young fellows in the picture) I’ve reached a conclusion. For every good and lovely thing in this world, there is an evil force trying to destroy it. But, you know what? It won’t be destroyed as long as we have faith that God is with us and, because of that, we will not be overwhelmed. We can look at problems with a confident smile, face them, and determine that we’ll make it through. With God, nothing is too tough for us to handle.

(A re-posting of a previous writing.)