Got a Twinkie?

 Hello Friends,

This week we were in a relatively unknown grocery store just to pick up some last-minute something. It wasn’t one of the “chain” supermarkets we usually go to, so we were interested to see all the different products they had for sale. 

Coming around a corner, I came face-to-face with a box of Twinkies! Are they still around in your neck of the woods? For myself, I don’t think I’ve seen one outside of America … ever.

Unfortunately, as an imported specialty, they were about $1.50 a twink, so it wasn’t hard to pass them up. But it made me remember a story from long ago.

Tony was sitting in a Japanese pastor’s meeting. On either side of him were seated the much “halo"-ed older missionary who’d been in Japan more than 30 years. When I think about it, I believe he was probably more “Japanese” than some of the actual Japanese there. Sitting next to him was a fairly new missionary, just learning the ropes and trying to keep his head above water.

As the snacks were passed out, Tony tried one of them, naturally selecting one of the more ‘western’, since we’d only been on the field for a couple of years by then and knew to choose carefully.

“Ummmm,” he said as he bit into the confectionary.  “Close your eyes and you think you’re eating a Twinkie”.

“Humph” said the new missionary, surreptitiously stuffing his back into the wrapper.  “You’ve been out of the country too long!” 

While Tony was processing this assessment, the older missionary chimed in happily, while enjoying the dried fish he’d selected.  “What’s a Twinkie?”

They all three chuckled.  It’s the generations … no matter what we do to stay “cool and with it” … we’re not.

This was evidenced the other night as Tony was sharing with our grandboys an exciting new book he’s been writing about a family lost in space!  As he read the first chapter, I could see the boys’ eyes begin to glaze.  When he came to a stop, Mom said politely, “I wonder how this will sell to today’s teens if you use these outdated (we were thinking, “really cool”) words?” 

She then suggested we might think about using AI (Artificial Intelligence, if you don’t know this new buzz word) to ‘project’ what language might supersede words like “robot” or “phone” …"text” and  “airplanes” in the future.

Isn’t it amazing that every few years the story changes?  We watch movies that show people sitting behind huge, clunky computers, holding a shoebox-sized phone to their ear… in their avocado toned kitchen, and we’re supposed to be thinking, “Wow, really modern!”

Life moves on.  People change, with or without the technology that come with them. Vocabulary changes, if not the words, then the meaning behind the words.

But not our God or our Bible. 

 Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

And isn’t it so wonderful that the Holy Spirit creates our spirit to be able to understand ‘the old old story’, regardless of what generation it comes from, or to whom it is speaking? 

 Happy summer/winter, wherever you are. I’d like to hear of some of your generational clashes and misunderstandings.   Ha

Marsha