Photo by Larry Mohr
I don’t even know the context of this comment. My brother, who shares a home with my mother, is on alert for the quippy things she says. (Yes, I know quippy is not a dictionary kind of word, but I’m not writing a dictionary.) Fulfilling his duties, he sent me a text message that reported her remark,
“History is a thing of the past.”
Too often, that’s exactly how we treat history. It’s out of vogue, it’s passé, it’s irrelevant, it’s not worth talking about.
Not true. Rather, understanding history may be a thing of the past.
We carry our past with us in every step we take as individuals and communities. Thank God, he can redeem our histories and give us hopeful futures. But history still forms us, teaches us, challenges us. Never think it doesn’t matter.
Yep, we learn so much from history. My son is studying the American Revolution right now. And I’m learning more than he!
This post is great food for thought. My Nanna taught me the occupation that is now my job, and a job some say is fast dying out (although the “GFC” has seen its resurgence). Ironic, how when times get tough, the peeps often go back to what works because of money. She came through the Great Depression and her money-saving ways really stand out. She’s such a wise woman, and our throw-away world seems to scoff at that without even realizing. She notices what other people glaze over because she knows to LOOK beyond the surface. She’s so WISE!
Thanks for being you, Nanna!!