When I look back over my life, I am truly grateful to God for everything. I have not had everything I wanted. I still do not have everything I thought I deserved. I remember a minister saying, “Grace is receiving what we don’t deserve; mercy is not receiving what we truly deserved.”

As I pause at 65 years old — where did it all go? — I read the Scriptures in a different way and I laugh. I don’t look for the voice of God. I hear the voice of God in Scriptures. I hear God in the lives of others, who also paused in their old age and laughed! They laughed because they understood God was merciful and gracious. They laughed because they acknowledged their faults and recognized those moments of forgiveness. They shared their mature knowledge with those around them, hoping they would not make the same mistakes. We all make the same mistakes, that’s why we are blessed to mature and hand back what was given to us on life’s’ journey.

I have lived long enough to love America even more, faults and all. America is learning from her past faster than previous years. That causes me to laugh more and cry less. The testimony of time is kin to individuals and nations if we are open to learn.

James Weathersby

Augusta