A Youthful Perspective

I just attended one of the best, most relaxed yet challenging conference. Work took me to National Older Adult Conference in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina at Lake Junaluska. An absolutely beautiful location. You can't go wrong with a lake surrounded my mountains. At least not in my opinion.

I find myself in the minority since I am very much under age of being eligible to attend this conference. I'm about 26 years ahead of the game. For these four days I consider myself so lucky because I had about 900 sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles coming to talk with me and to learn more about me. Always wondering why this youngster as at their conference.

I had a blast though. Everywhere I went people were always telling me "you're too young to be here!" and that was the typical opening into a wonderful conversation about who I am and what their story is. The theme of this year's conference was Legacies of Wisdom. And I think it is so fitting for all ages to ponder. For three days I was surrounded by so much history and wisdom. One of the speakers talked of writing legacy wills, rather than the typical will that says what is to happen in the end. These legacy wills are a way to tell your story. To preserve it for generations to come. So that they know the life and legacy of their loved ones. I love hearing people's stories and with my work in BVS I encourage people to tell their story. I think it might be one of my favorite parts of the work I do. I wish I had the words to express how much this means to me. But, words are escaping me. When I listen to these stories as these older adults are retelling their story, a part of their life that has shaped them in so many ways, chills come over me. There is definitely the Spirit present in these moments. The Spirit is moving in each one of us.

Many times through the week people were thanking me for coming and sharing about the work of BVS and for taking the time to join them. But really, it is me who should be thanking those who took the time to share their story. And I did. As someone who could easily be their daughter, or grandaughter, or neice, or nephew, it meant so much for me to hear these stories. I wish there was a way to record them all before they are lost.

It was a week where I could be super goofy and at the same time could become involved in a serious conversation about life and the church and the direction that BVS is headed. I could take time to relax and take a nap if I wanted to (which one day I did!), or to sit outside on the rocking chairs and enjoy conversation with whoever was already there. This is how I managed to stumble across some relatives that I didn't even know! It was really cool. I sat down and Mart looked at my last name and said my something something something double cousin something something something married a guy with that last name. And I said yep that's my parents! It's not often that you cross someone in the CoB with the last name Flaten! That's for sure! It was a really neat evening.

It's so hard to remember everything that happened in my week. So much to say the least. All I know is that I had such a great and meaningful time. I'm already trying to figure out how to make it to the next NOAC even though I will still be waaaaaaaaaay too young! Yep, these Brethren know how to have a good time!