culture shock: respect for the elderly

Proverbs 20:29  The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.

It has been more than a year since we lived in the USA.  I grew up here and had visited many other places, but this was the longest I had been away. There is something I have noticed since returning. Something about how we treat seniors in our society.

While stopping at the pharmacy recently to pick up prescriptions for my friend I had an interaction that surprised me. I was about to pull in to the only available parking spot in a packed lot when two elderly women stepped in front of me on their way to their car. I stopped in my tracks as they passed. It took them some time to get in to the car as one helped the other. I sat in my automobile making sure I wasn't blocking anyone behind me...and waited. This may have happened to you before. 

What surprised me is that they kept apologizing. They looked worried that I would be upset. When I pulled in to the parking space and opened my door, they apologized some more..."we are sorry you had to wait." Why should they be sorry? The time it took because of their physical difficulties should not be my chief concern, it did not inconvenience me. I should have apologized to them because I did not get out to help.

In my old life, the life where I lived here before moving overseas, I may have been thinking about all the things I had to do and places I had to go and the slowness of these two older women may have caused an unwelcome wait of an additional few minutes. But, that isn't their fault and they shouldn't feel unwelcome.

I left this interaction with a couple of impressions:

1. In so many other parts of the world the elderly are revered. They are given the special place of honor. Their opinion carries more weight. Grey hair has earned them respect. In my culture these individuals are almost looked at as disposable. The elderly certainly are on the fringes of our society. I am not sure that is how it should be. I do know that I didn't want to give the impression to these women that they were an unwelcome interruption or inconvenience.
2. How often do we blow through our day and miss opportunities to bless others? Do we just sit in the car like I did? I don't want to be that person.

Being around old people used to make me uncomfortable. For most of my life I didn't have grandparents so I didn't know how to relate. I have a different perspective now. I think the scripture in Proverbs encourages respect for the elderly in our society. I have seen it exhibited in other places. I hope to retain this as a value in a culture where it is not common practice.

Just Sheri, appreciative that I learned to respect the elderly while living overseas