Train Up a Child...

There is a verse in the Bible that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6, NKJV) I've heard this verse all my life in reference to teaching children for adulthood. I want to share a story with you that changed my perspective on this verse forever.

When I was in high school, my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. He was 70 years old at the time. About two years later, we moved him in to a skilled care facility for veterans in North Alabama (where I'm from). He was in the dementia ward with many other veterans like him. Some were World War 2 vets, others served in Korea or, like my grandfather, served a tour of duty during the "in between years." Because of the dementia, many of the veterans had truly lost their inhibitions and you saw what they were like as young men. You knew who "chased skirts" because they hit on any female that passed their way. You knew who smoked like a chimney because everywhere they went they were asking for a cigarette. My grandfather was different. He was raised in a Christian home, saved as a child and became a bivocational minister after his tour in the Navy. I don't know what he was like as a young man, but as an old man, he loved the Lord. There was no doubt about it. When he had forgotten who we were or where he was, he still remembered his Lord and the verses he had put to memory.

I guess the lesson for me was what you put into your life when you are young, will come out when you are old. Fortunately, God can restore the years the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25-27). We have hope and that Hope is Jesus Christ. If you have wasted time, God can heal and restore. Praise the Lord!