Aspirations

I once attended a Sunday school class that operated in a traditional format of lecture and small group discussion.* It was nearing the end of the hour. We'd heard an amazing teaching and spent time in small groups discussing the topic. The class was coming to an end when the person next to me turned to an old woman at our table and asked her what she thought. Let's call this old woman Betty. During the course of the hour Betty had smiled kindly and nodded during the lecture and as each of us had taken part in the discussion but not added anything to it herself (and note that I'm calling her "old" and not "older" - she was old). So, as I mentioned, at the end of the session the person next to me turned to Betty and said something like, "Betty, do you have anything to say about that?" to which Betty responded, "Hold on Dear, let me turn on my hearing aids. What?"

Another Sunday Betty arrived a little late to Sunday school. Too late, in fact, to snag one of the donuts. Finding only an empty box, Betty interrupted an entire table listening to the lecture in order to find out where more donuts were. Eventually, Betty convinced one of the ordained persons to go and fetch her a donut... from across the entire church campus... in the middle of someone's lecture. Well, we all have priorities. Evidently, once you reach a certain age, donuts trump Sunday school. Or, at least someone else's learning in Sunday school.

Betty gives us all something to aspire to: live long enough to demand your fair share of donuts and then turn off your hearing aids and enjoy!

*I've attended several churches during my life. I'm not telling who the real Betty is or what church this happened at. Just imagine any little old lady at your church, and that's Betty.