I have had the great privilege of getting to spend some time with the elders of our church. About two years ago a group of friends, in undergrad at the time, began going to visit a few people. One of these is Mr. Elvis. He is a wonderful man who tells us about his faith, which he constantly wishes to grow more in, his family and the life he lived. He tells us about what he wishes he had done differently and the things he values most in his life.
One lesson he always gave us was to tell your spouse you love them everyday. It was one of those that he wish he could have done. Now I've heard a bunch of different people say that, but its different coming from Mr. Elvis. He was married for over 60 years and when he tells you this its not in a matter of fact way. You can see the compassion he has even though he told her he loved her a million times he wishes he had every day back that he didn't. It makes you hope for love like that.
Every time we go to his house before we leave, Mr. Elvis prays for us. It is simply a prayer of thanks. He thanks God for our time together and just asks the Lord to continually be with us. It helps me understand that its not always about asking God for guidance in the future. The Lord gives us our daily bread. We need to spend time just giving thanks for that moment, and knowing that if He is with us we have everything we need. The other night he had Allison and I over for dinner. His friend Jan cooked and we had a great conversation just about our Christian walk. He kept asking some tough questions about faith and trying to figure out and who God was. Even though he has so much wisdom, he is not satisfied with what he knows. He constantly battles to have a better understanding. I hope I never get content and spend the rest of my life trying to know God better. We ended up playing rook and skip-bo until 10:30. I almost missed a homework assignment due at midnight because I didn't expect to be over there that long. At the end of the night he asked me if I would like to pray instead of him. I did and I simply just gave thanks for our time together and the love that was in the room.
Mr. Elvis would probably tell you that we are doing him a service by going to see him. I've never been around anyone like him and Mrs. Wilma (another lady at our church) who appreciate the time they have with you so much. The reality is that Mr. Elvis is impacting our lives more then he will ever realize. His hospitality and the love that is felt when we just show up at his house is overwhelming. He has no agenda, but just talks to us about whatever is on his heart. Hearing his story, we get to go through all the times of joy and all the times of sorrow and see how a person got to where they are today. As a 23 year old unsure about what the future holds, it is very comforting hearing from someone who had struggles himself and can give me advice on how he got through it. Mr. Elvis has learned how to give thanks for the current moment. I think I need to stop looking ahead and have that same attitude of thanks. I feel like people have a tendency to think their difficulties are unique, and they have to fix their problems on there own. I love talking to someone who will openly share with me what he has been through, so its not as scary when I go through it. What's funnier is that the difficulties he went through involved money (jobs), health, and discernment for his life. The things he valued were God, family, and his wife. It's pretty similar to how I feel today.
My advice from this post is to quit thinking you have to figure it all out and that you can't enjoy the moment. You are going to grow and learn as you go, so don't allow worrying about what's ahead to take away from the right now. We have so many things to be thankful of right now. Find someone that has been there before and hear their story. Seek wisdom from those who have it. Never be content. You are going to have room to grow and learn the rest of your life. Never stop seeking, and be a minister of God's grace for all the days He gives you.
Love you guys and hope you have a wonderful day!
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