A grandfather named King...(from journal 09-20-05)

Not to long ago, I had the daunting task of going to a commencement ceremony. For the record, graduations are not ever fun, even if it is your own. I would have much rather been doing something else other than sitting at a graduation. I would have to venture to say, that dusting would have been more fun, and I absolutely hate dusting, just ask my wife. I also think that watching grass grow would have probably been more entertaining. Actually, just about anything would have been better than sitting on an uncomfortable bleacher. I think that you get the point, i will stop torturing with my very bad analogies. Actually, one more thing, I do not think that I ever been to a graduation that has started on time. You rush to get there and then you get to wait an extra thirty plus minutes to cheer on the graduate of your choice. While I was sitting and waiting for the lovely event to begin, I decided to take up a favorite past time, people watching. I typically gravitate to people watching when I am bored. There were all kinds of people at this event, which was not unusual for a graduation. There were people who were very excited to be there, which I totally did not get. There were people there that were like myself, miserable. The I saw a sight that caught my attention. A young man, I would say around the age of twenty, walked in to the auditorium, normally this would not have grasped my attention, but He happened to be pushing a wheelchair, that I would say was holding his grandfather. His grandfather was probably around the age of eighty or maybe even older. Most people, I've noticed, when it comes to older people, maybe not most, but some. Seem to have an attitude towards older people that is not the best. Almost as if they are a bother and not a joy. But this young man pushing his grandfather, seemed to have a different attitude. It was almost as if he was pushing royalty. It almost seemed as if pushing his grandfather was more of a blessing than it was a burden. It seemed as if was announcing the entrance of someone very regal and grand. He pushed his grandfather with such care and precision. He navigated his way to their designated area like a precession in a parade. When his grandfather spoke,it was as if he was speaking words of gold the way his grandson hung on every word. It was as if he cherished everything his grandfather had to say. It was amazing to see the interaction between the two of them. Watching these two brought a question to my mind, how do i treat people. Do i treat them with care or like they are a burden. A very tough question to answer and honestly, some of the time I treat people like a burden. But what if i treated people the way God treated them, as if they were precious, almost like royalty? What would that say about the actual king that I serve. Truth be told, they are royalty because the are heirs to the kingdom of God. Maybe i should treat them that way. It is amazing what you can learn from a little people watching. I am not sure if that grandfather's name was King, but i know his grandson treated him that way...