The Comforts of Old and Worn

There is a set of old stairs in the the­ol­ogy build­ing of Rice Uni­ver­sity. For many decades, stu­dents and pro­fes­sors have made their way up and down those old con­crete stairs. Gen­tle grooves are worn into all of the places where peo­ple have rou­tinely stepped. The sight brings a sense of awe and solemn tra­di­tion to mind. To climb those stairs means to walk in the foot­steps of great minds and spir­its.
Many other old insti­tu­tions con­vey a sim­i­lar sense of qual­ity pur­suits. Great peo­ple have gone before you, great ones will come after you. The ques­tion remains: Will you be one of the greats? Each time you walk the stairs the well-worn path echoes the reminder.
Old worn things have a his­tory and a sort of melan­choly soul. Take an old coin that is almost worn com­pletely smooth and ask your­self: “Where all has this coin gone, and what has it seen.” If it could talk, it would have sto­ries to tell. Why is it that new things seem so cheap and shal­low? Why is it an old copy of a book looks more fun to read than a new copy by the same title? What is so invit­ing about an old pair of shoes? Is it the imag­ined his­tory of their many jour­neys?
Smil­ing eyes, sur­rounded by wrin­kles, are com­fort­ing too. These peo­ple are old and worn, but their souls are secure and relaxed. They have laughed and cried through a lot of vic­to­ries and tragedies — yet never allowed them­selves to be defined by them. They have wit with­out venom. You can­not fool them, but they love a good punch line. They know the joke is on the way. They will allow you a lit­tle lev­ity on about every level of human expe­ri­ence.
Slow down and pon­der all of the old and worn that you can find out there. It will some­day be gone, and we will be the poorer — at least until the coins, stairs, and faces of our gen­er­a­tion show the same wear.
Dale Andrews
P.S. Please pray for Helen Har­ris. Remem­ber Olive Web­ster also. Thomas and Valda were at church yes­ter­day and are look­ing chip­per. We had a won­der­ful ice cream social last night. Susan’s dad is still with her. Judy is mend­ing nicely. Our mul­ti­ple musi­cians were spectacular!