Spare change has always been annoying to me. Usually there wasn't enough to make a significant purchase or so much that it created a hole in your pocket. I finally found a solution for spare change. The answer came in the form of a tin bank filled with English toffee that a friend brought from London. After eating all the candy (not in one sitting), I didn't want to throw away the bank that was a replica of Big Ben. So I started dropping my spare change in its slot.
The other day the bank became full and I decided to deposit the coins in one of my bank accounts. Being curious, I chose to count the coins and see how much money the little bank could hold. As I separated out the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, I decided to see if I could find any old "wheat pennies" that were worth more than their face value. As I searched through hundreds of pennies with no luck, I was convinced that America's numismatists had picked the money chain clean. Then I found it, a 1945-D wheat penny. Since I was a year older than the penny and I live in suburban Denver (D was for Denver mint), the penny and I had a lot in common.
First, I was curious about how much it was worth. I was certain that I had found a treasure that would allow me to retire to Barbados or at least buy a McCafé drink. So I went to the all-knowing Internet and goggled "1945D wheat penny." I discovered that my copper treasure was worth about 10 cents. My day was ruined; no free McCafé today. After a good stiff jolt of caffeine from my own brew, I began to reflect on the journey of that penny. It has been circulating the country, and maybe the world, for almost 65 years. Wow, the places it must have visited and the people it must have helped! How many parking tickets did it prevent? How many gumballs has it purchased? How many times was it used as a screwdriver? Unfortunately, as the years have gone by, it has lost some of its face value. Today, most people believe a penny isn't worth very much. Some even suggest that pennies be eliminated from our money chain.
In some ways older adults are like this penny. We have been around a long time and have seen and done many things. We were "minted" somewhere, but have traveled to other parts of the country or even our world. We have helped many people get through life, perhaps our children, siblings, or friends. While many of us are still in circulation, our value to those around us may be diminishing. There are even people today who suggest that older adults get out of the way. Perhaps we feel it is time for us to get out of circulation or bow out of the game.
Quite the contrary; my old 1945 penny is worth 10 times its face value…and so are you. The experiences, talents, gifts, abilities, and wisdom of older adults are needed now more than ever. The rapid changes in our culture have created a wide disconnect between younger and older generations. Many young people are racing through life without a rooted perspective that will help them avoid poor decisions and personal pain. Older adults can help provide younger generations with a wiser perspective on life.
My experience with young adults tells me that they will relate to older adults who care about them and are willing to listen. While it will take time to build trusting relationships with a younger people, it is well worth the investment…both for you and for them. Our local churches afford us a unique opportunity to build bridges of strength across the generations. More importantly, most of our churches cannot allow the generations to live apart and be disconnected. All will be poorer for it. And it is not what God intends for his kingdom.
Older adults must be proactive in building relationships with younger adults. Think creatively about ways the older and younger generations can relate. It may be as simple as inviting a younger person to coffee at a local Starbucks. Or relations across generations can develop by establishing mentoring relationships, either between individuals or couples. Doing intergenerational service projects together or taking short-term mission trips together is an excellent way to bridge the age differences. However you build intergenerational relationships, you will find that, over time, you will be able to speak into the lives of younger people.
Many of us older adults may feel like worn out pennies, but we still have great value to the kingdom of God. With the investment of older followers of Jesus into the lives of younger people, the kingdom of God will be richer. Our prayer should be that of the psalmist when he says, "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old--what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done."
