Today’s Thought Geriatrical G. Ward

 “Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. ² So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her attend the king and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.” ³ So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

⁴ The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not cohabit with her.” 1 Kings 1:1-4

I was privileged to know my grandparents. They all have died, yet the memory of them is still overwhelming. All that grandparents were supposed to be (i.e. loving, encouraging, etc.) was who they were. So why am I so dysfunctional now? That’s another episode for later.

Today I want to focus in on my maternal grandfather. He was approximately six feet tall, slender and masterfully socialable. Every time he would come around, we (his grandchildren) were proud in calling him “Big Daddy.” He sought being generous towards us, but was unable because he had so many grandchildren (approx.36) and there was always so many around; particularly in a time where economic depression was rampant. We however thought of our “Big Daddy” as close to perfect. Amazingly, he gave nicknames to so many of us in accordance to how we looked; mine was Uncle John Whitfield. Apparently we had some relatives with the surname Whitfield in our genealogy. I was glad to be equated with our family in physical terms, because prior to the nickname designation, I thought they found me behind a rock or something.

The paradigm given us as children from grandparents rarely takes into account the misgivings of their youth. We see the elderly as very cognizant of extending niceties towards the many they encounter. We call them reserved because expediency is a thing of the past; retirement means slow down. Frivolity, in a general sense can’t be tolerated, because no energy drink, or any other stimulant, could incite the inducement of endorphins necessary to commit some behaviors.

That’s what happened to King David in our scripture lesson text above. It wasn’t that King David or “Big Daddy” was immune to great sin as such, Viagra wasn’t invented yet. Happy Tuesday!