Listen And Learn

In 2012, Brooklyn’s Mike Matthews was at work when one of his coworkers came into the office, lamenting a recent breakup. As she opened up to him, a singular thought crossed his mind: She needs to talk to Grandma Eileen. Matthews’ grandma lived in Seattle, and his coworker had never met her, but he gave her Eileen’s phone number anyway. “She said, ‘Mike, that's so weird. You want me to call your grandma?’” he recalled in a social media post. Well, yes. On Monday, the coworker returned to the office with a spring in her step. Eileen had lifted her spirits, and their first call was the start of a series of regular dispatches. But it wasn’t just a relationship that blossomed with Matthews’ coworker. “I set up a little lemonade stand, put a laptop on it, noise-cancelling headphones,” he told ABC 7 last year. “And then I would place it somewhere in the city, and then my grandma could virtually meet anyone in New York City that was walking by.” That was the birth of the Grandma Stand. For six years, Eileen called in and spoke with thousands of complete strangers, until she passed away in 2018 at the age of 102. “My grandma had so much love to give, and every person who talks to my grandma feels elevated, feels seen, feels heard,” Matthews told ABC 7. “And she also benefited, like she felt like she was valued.”*

Thank the Lord for the wisdom of grandmothers and grandfathers. While there are exceptions, in most cases the accumulation of years and experiences yields a wealth of wisdom and insight that can be shared with others. But sadly, too many today ignore the elderly and push them to the side. Perhaps the Lord anticipated this tragedy and included this instruction as part of the Old Covenant: “You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:32).

Listen to Grandma. It’s good for you.

God loves you!

Mike

*https://www.goodgoodgood.co