Have Things Really
Changed or Not?
By Wayne Hinton
1/31/2015
Many Christians
agree that Solomon was wise
And his writings
were wise and true.
So what do we do
with the words he wrote,
That under the sun
there is nothing new?
“Is there anything
of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’?
It has already
been in ancient times before us.”
Then how come it
is that the TV ads
Repeatedly tell us
it is not thus.
When I was young,
my mom read poems to me
And I listened
closely and studied each.
To me they were as
new as they could be
But it was the
poems now within my reach.
Each had been
around for years,
But for me they
were brand new.
And each one I
heard helped me
As in this world,
I grew.
When mom told me
to put on my coat,
I knew not to
complain.
She was cold and
history told her
I didn't know to
come in from the rain.
I started school
with others my age
And there I found
more new things.
Of course, there
was nothing really new
But I was no
longer tied to my mother’s apron strings.
Summers were spent
with my grandparents
On their farms and
stores and fields.
It was all so new
to me, but not to them
To grandpa, he was
pulling in the farming yields.
Teenage years are
new, no doubt.
But are they
really so?
Was it as true, as
I felt it was,
New to a boy for a
girl to say “no”?
Then came college
and things were new again.
No more parents
for daily guidance, but
The professors
seemed to know the dangers
Of us getting into
a rut.
Up until
graduation from college,
Things were really
quite the same.
Every teacher knew
the answer
Before they even
called out our name.
Now, with a real
job so I could pay my bills,
Another set of “new”
came my way.
My managers’
project assignments had due dates
I didn't understand, but neither did they.
Since the job had never
been done before,
We might have
considered it to be “new”.
But after a while,
it became clear to me
That each project
repeated jobs I already knew.
By now a wedding
was in my life,
And everything was
going to be “new” again.
We had no idea
what we were doing,
Except going where
we’d never been.
We had been
children ourselves, of course,
And thought we
knew how to raise them.
But each one was
different and
Equally quite a
gem.
When we were
teenagers, we knew everything.
Life ahead was
going to be effortless.
Now, with the
‘terrible twos’ facing us,
The children each
left us breathless.
As our children
grew, we saw each stage of their life
Through our own
eyes, no matter how much we tried.
The challenges
they faced were different than ours,
We wanted to help
… to be their guide.
What we didn't see
was that, just like us,
All the things
they were going through,
Was their first
experience with growing up …
To them, it was
all brand new.
They did reach the
adult stage
Sometimes it was
in spite of us.
They got jobs, got
married, had kids
Now they put the
kids on the bus.
Relating to their
job experience
Was another uphill
task.
Companies change,
they come and go,
We really didn't know what to ask.
Grandchildren are
wonderful,
Only grandparents
can understand.
If we could have
them before our own,
Life would truly
be grand.
The teachers are
different, the jobs are, too.
Hair lengths
change from year to year.
And each time we
enter a “new” stage of life
There is a certain
measure of fear.
Companies come and
companies go,
We don’t have Pony
Express any more.
But we do have
children and grandchildren.
We still have
peace and war.
It was wonderful
to see the grandchildren
Play in our large
acreage of land.
Just as I had done
at my grandparents’ home
When I played and
worked and got tanned.
But I am not my
grandfather,
And our
grandchildren are not me.
Similarities
exist, to be sure,
But each must be
what they must be.
I am reminded of
these changes when I recall
The atmosphere of
my youth.
It takes a village
to raise a child
Was once a
universal truth.
Our neighbors were
close, and now they are not.
Extended families
were common then.
Now we hardly know
people who live
We talk, but I
can’t remember when.
Solomon told us “That
which has been is what will be,
That which is done
is what will be done.
There is no
remembrance of former things
And there is
nothing new under the sun.
Have things really
changed or not?
We have tools not
known in history.
But without those
tools, what has changed
Still remains a very
great mystery.
