Southern Living had a great article that transported me back to the days of childhood. Written by Patricia Shannon, the article was called 5 Things My Grandmother Did Every Day That Deserve A Comeback.1 Reading the article sure made me think and put a smile on my face. Let me share the points with you.
Dressing was an art form. Grandma never dressed fancy. In fact, she was notorious for being given a new dress and storing it in the closet, theorizing that she might need it one day to go to the hospital. Oh, she had some peculiar ideas. Seldom, though, did grandma ever wear pants. She had her old dresses that were made for working, panty hose, sensible shoes, and her apron. Sunday, though, was the day to dress up. It wasn’t about impressing anyone. It was about respect for the Lord, His day, and His church. And you would have never caught grandma showing up at a store dressed like some are today!
She actually sat down for breakfast and made sure everyone else did, too. Ms. Patton’s grandma may have done this. My grandma was a bit different in this area. Yes, the meals were ready and on the table at the same time every day. But, getting grandma to sit down and eat was a chore of its own. She was too busy making sure everyone was eating everything, dishing it on your plate whether you wanted it or not! This was true for all meals as well as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving meals that had to be at her house. That was not up for discussion.
She had her beauty appointments. Again, this may have been true for Ms. Patton’s grandma, and I know it’s true for many of our senior ladies. Not so much for my grandma. Grandma’s beauty appointment was with herself and a mirror. I still
remember those black, pokey curlers held in place with the bobby pins. In her day, grandma liked the red lipstick. And who can forget the cold cream face masks?
She found time for a visit. People just don’t visit like they used to. I can picture grandma and grandpa sitting on the glider swing with someone who just stopped by. They quit working in the garden or doing housework to visit for a while, possibly cracking open a fresh watermelon from the garden, or eating some sugar cookies that grandma always had on hand, stored in that silver canister with the glass rice dome on top to draw moisture. Company never seemed like an imposition or intrusion. It was welcomed.
Does any of this take you down memory lane?
Times change, though, and usually not for the good. We lose something with each new generation. I’m not blaming anyone. It’s just a fact. Perhaps while we still have some of these memories intact, we need to return to the “good old ways” of doing things before these good habits completely slip away.
Spiritually speaking, Israel knew what it was to drift. The Lord gave this instruction in Jeremiah 6:16. “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” How did they respond? “But they said, We will not walk therein.” Jeremiah 18:15 shows the results. “Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up.”
The Lord warned us that those days would come. 2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” While this is prophesied and there’s nothing we can do to keep it from happening in general, we can do what is necessary to make sure it doesn’t happen to us.
While many things that were common in America deserve a comeback, many more things that were common to devoted Christians from years gone by need to make a comeback. They can if we would practice Proverbs 2:6-9. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.”
1https://www.southernliving.com/things-grandma-did-every-day-8780478
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