Veteran pastor Corey Brooks shares four profound life lessons he gleaned from the wisdom of an unforgettable childhood teacher and from the reflective journey of aging. Join him as he uncovers the transformative power of humility and the need to embrace both the joys and challenges of time's passage.
Growing older may not be without its physical drawbacks, but it holds an unexpected treasure within its wrinkles and gray hairs: the gift of humility. I discovered this truth three years ago as I reached the milestone of five decades on Earth. Suddenly, time began to unfold before me in half-century increments, fostering a profound sense of reflection and humility.
Rooftop Revelations: Life Lessons from Aging and Humility
Those 50 years had flown by like a comet, despite the seemingly interminable wait for milestones like my 16th and 21st birthdays and every preadolescent Christmas. Looking back, these distant memories now felt as if they had transpired mere days ago.
This chronological reckoning revealed an uncomfortable truth: time was nowhere near as expansive as I had once believed. Five decades before I was born, in 1921, Charlie Chaplin graced American screens, Ireland gained independence, and Adolf Hitler rose to power.
Rooftop Revelations: Life Lessons from Aging and Humility
These distant events, once relegated to the realm of history books, were now mere footsteps away in my own lifetime. I wondered what life had been like 50 years prior to that, in 1871. America was in the throes of Reconstruction, the Civil War had ended just six years earlier, and President Lincoln had been assassinated.
Imagine the humility that comes with doubling this temporal journey, as someone twice my age might have done. America, a relatively young nation in the grand scheme of history, suddenly seemed less distant and more intimately connected to my own existence.
Rooftop Revelations: Life Lessons from Aging and Humility
Aging has proven to be a potent antidote to chronological snobbery, the misguided notion that the past is inherently inferior to the present. As we age, we straddle both worlds, the past and present, simultaneously. And the more we critique the past, the more we realize we are ultimately judging ourselves.
With each passing year, I find myself less inclined to demand justice and more inclined to seek tender mercy. In this shift lies the essence of aging's joy. I am grateful for the accumulation of humility that time has bestowed upon me. It whispers to me that while human beings and their circumstances may change, human nature remains steadfast, flawed yet yearning for redemption.
Rooftop Revelations: Life Lessons from Aging and Humility
Our ancestors made different mistakes than we do, some more egregious than others. And just as we will inevitably err in the eyes of our descendants, so too have we erred in the eyes of our ancestors. Without divine grace, we humans will continue to stumble in this fallen world until the end of time.
Once, St. Bernard of Clairvaux was asked to name the three most important virtues. His answer was profound: humility, humility, humility. It is a timeless lesson that aging imparts over and over again, if only we allow it to. Embracing the wisdom of time and the grace of humility, we can navigate life's inevitable trials and tribulations with a newfound understanding and a gentler touch.
Rooftop Revelations: Life Lessons from Aging and Humility
