Things aren’t built the way they used to be.

This is a saying in our home. We sound like our grandparents did… but it’s become so much more apparent to me the older I get. They truly don’t make things the way they used to…

My best friend and I own a small business. We find old stuff and resell it. Sometimes we fix it up, sometimes we don’t! Nonetheless, the stuff is usually in great shape. It holds up and hardly ever needs work. The stuff just lasts… We’ve gotten pretty good at being able to tell the era by how well it’s held up. The older it is, the more quality it is. Whether it’s an old tool (usually only rusted) or an old piece of furniture (usually only needs some oil), it’s much more sturdy than anything you buy in the store these days.

The same is true for vehicles. My husband and I have decided to stick with older vehicles. Last year, my motor seized up in my vehicle. We were faced with the reality of buying new and having a car payment or rebuilding our motor. I’ve been truly blessed with being surrounded by amazing mechanics my entire life. My dad, uncle, family friend, cousin, and husband… they are all either seasoned mechanics or have fun with it as a hobby. I’m so thankful for that. I know so many people who don’t have a trusted mechanic in their lives. For us, it made much more sense to rebuild our motor. The motor in my Tahoe, as my dad puts it, is the last best motor Chevy ever made. To buy a brand new car means a ridiculous car payment. It also means hoping it will last longer than the car payment so you can trade it it for another car payment. It’s such a cycle that we just don’t want to be apart of. We even recently acquired an old truck with manual EVERYTHING… all the way down to breaks and steering… and we are ecstatic! There is far less to break and it’s so much easier to fix!!

Guys… I feel like this is also to be said about marriages, families, and raising kids. Our society is so quick to quit when the going gets tough. Divorce is acceptable for the smallest things. I’m beyond thankful I had the privilege to see my in-laws marriage for the first 10+ years of my husband and I’s relationship. The love, hard work and tenacity they put in provided nearly 50 years of marriage. My father in law passed away the month before their 50th wedding anniversary. It has been over a year and a half since he passed and my mother-in-law still talks to him daily. This is the marriage I strive for.

When it comes to our kids, It’s not accepted in our culture to parent them with the same methods the older generations did. Instead of parenting with authority, it’s more common to let the kids make the decisions and we guide them. We want to be their best friends instead of an authority figure. We are so afraid to break their spirit that we don’t set or follow rules and boundaries to help them as adults. We give everyone a trophy so no one feels left out.

We can learn so much from older generations if we took the time to listen to them.

When it’s broke, fix it. When it’s getting old, restore it. When you don’t know what to do, talk to God or someone with wisdom who has lived it. When you want to give up, ask God to intervene. Take care of what you have and thank the Lord daily for His goodness.

Thank you, Lord for always installing this love of tradition in my heart. Thank you for providing people of wisdom in my life to listen to and learn from. Continue to instill discernment for what I should keep and what I should forget so that I can be who you are creating me to be. Help me be this sound wisdom for others, including the generations that come after me. In your name I pray, Amen.