“Welcome
to the land of space and time enough,” was the greeting my
family and I received as we met with American Indian leaders of the
Navajo Nation in Tsaile (near Window Rock), Arizona.
The
year was about 1975. I had been invited to speak to a group of
native, LDS parents living on the reservation about effective
child-rearing methods. Hank and the children had been invited to come
along to experience the beauty of the land and the culture of the
people.
There
in that enchanting desert, all one could see in any direction were
sand and sky, with occasional gigantic red rock formations pointing
to the clouds. When I asked what time the meeting would start I was
told, “When they all get here.” Truly it was the land
space and time enough.
Just
this month I turned 81, and I am blessed to be in an era of life
where there is space and time enough, relatively speaking, for my
needs and even my wants. The children have moved on and I, a widow,
am alone in a home that once housed ten of us.
There
is lots of space. One might refer to it as “wiggle” room.
I have things to do; in fact my life is full, but there is plenty of
time to attend to them.
As
a beginning columnist for Nauvoo Times, I’m writing this
first month for my fellow senior citizen readers (and anyone else who
wants to read along) about the fact that most of us now, at our ages,
have the space in our homes and the time in our lives we’ve
always wanted.
I
feel that during these “golden” years we can be highly
selective in how we use our space and time.
The
space, for me, has increased gradually over the years. Early on my
“office” was a card table and folding chair next to the
furnace in our basement. Then, as the children married, I claimed a
vacant bedroom and turned it into a den with a typewriter (later a
computer), bookshelves, filing cabinet, family photos and various
keepsake items.
There
is a large window that allows natural light and vistas of my
neighborhood where gigantic Modesto Ash tree branches touch in the
middle of the street. I love that “space!” It has become
an inspiration point with my mind “clicking on” as I
enter the door, the setting for hours of study and volumes of written
material.
As
for the time issue, many of us seniors have come to realize that if a
project doesn’t have merit or isn’t of lasting, even
eternal value, we can skip it. By this I mean we can focus on what
matters most. I would think that enjoying and serving family and
friends and strengthening our faith in the gospel are the priorities.
Each
of us undoubtedly has a system for staying close to our families. In
my case, modern technology has enhanced my methods for reaching out
to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For an
immediate response, I text them.
IPads
and IPhones facilitate further communication and remind me of
birthdays and other special occasions. Skype or Face Time allow me
to “visit” members of our large posterity who live away
any time I choose to do so.
I
have a love/hate relationship with technology — love it when my
computer is behaving well, hate it when it isn’t.
If
you’re like me, then you are not the family genealogical
researcher, but you may be like me by being a family recorder. Thank
goodness there are those in my family who know how to trace our
ancestry back generations, but I find success and joy in keeping
family records current and writing personal histories.
Serving
weekly in the Salt Lake Temple as a sealing assistant reassures me of
the importance of maintaining these records and sharing my testimony
with our posterity.
Even
though our situations and opportunities vary, each of us can give and
serve in some way even with challenges and limitations. President
Gordon B. Hinckley, talking about circumstances when life is
difficult, told us: “Do the best you can.”
My
beloved late husband, Hank (Hendricus), passed away in November of
2013, after suffering several years with Parkinson’s disease.
As the disease advanced his body grew weaker, but his influence in
our family became stronger.
He
was a stellar example of consistent good cheer and unfaltering faith
in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The effect in the family was powerful,
never to be forgotten.
We
seniors can develop an extensive personal gospel study program.
Instead of just a “meal,” we can now set up a spiritual
“feast” for ourselves with time to search the scriptures,
learn from the study guides and manuals, and read edifying material
every day. There is digitized material and much online and via the
media that is worthwhile.
And
if disabilities such as poor eyesight or loss of hearing hinder us,
there are clever devices and qualified services available for
overcoming these challenges, at least partially.
Over
our lifetimes each one of us has created a reservoir of learning,
wisdom, love, and faith. From it we can draw generously to enrich our
space and time — for the benefit and blessing of ourselves and
those we love, even from a wheelchair or a hospital bed.
When
Hank and I were serving a welfare/humanitarian mission in Asia, based
in Hong Kong, from 1999-2001, our area president, Elder Cree-L
Kofford, counseled us senior missionaries by saying:
We’re
approaching the time of life when we do less, but we can be more —
it’s a time of becoming, not of doing.
Instead
of just doing kind things, we can endeavor to be kind; instead of
just providing service, we can strive to be a servant; instead of
just sharing wisdom, we can try to be wise; instead of just doing
exemplary things, we can be an example; instead of just being a
member of the Church we can become a disciple of Christ.
It’s
okay to grow old and thereby “inhabit” a land of space
and time enough. There are benefits and blessings as a result when we
seek the Spirit in dealing with our circumstances wisely.
Please
see next month for “How to Do Right Things Right”
A native of Salt Lake City, Daryl Hoole has written and lectured extensively on home
management and family living. She has served on the ward, stake, regional, and general levels of
the Church. It has also been her privilege to fulfill three missions -- once to the Netherlands
when she was young and single; another time as companion to her husband as he presided over
the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission; and the third time with two other senior couples as Asia
Area Welfare/Humanitarian Administrators, headquartered in Hong Kong.
She and her husband Hank and are the parents of eight living children, the grandparents of thirty-six, and the great-grandparents of a rapidly increasing number.