Well, friends, today was my birthday which got me to thinking about time, stages of life, ages, even eras…..

What is your favorite era? I guess maybe only history fans and romantics like me have a “favorite era.” Mine is the early 1900’s and World War 1. I guess I am fascinated by that time for several reasons. As an avid seamstress, I love the Edwardian and WW1 styles. They depict the transition between the more stiff styles of the earlier Victorian Era (which, by the way, I love as well!) and the loose and daring (for then) styles of the Roaring 20’s. Still they are so feminine and modest, while being looser fitting and easily adapted for modern clothing.

World War 1 was a pivotal time in the history of the United States. I recently attended a conference where one of the speakers gave a detailed history lesson. He pointed out that WW1 began the loss of innocence for our country. I see the era as the last of a gentler time when good morals, faith and virtue were still applauded.

Imagine what it was like for the countless thousands of American farm boys, many who had never traveled more than a few miles from home, to suddenly find themselves beholding the sights of Europe. Standing in the shadows of the massive castles, the Arc de Triomphe, the Palace of Versailles, surely made the tiny wood frame buildings of the farm on the windswept prairie seem so small and far away. They had been transported to places they had only heard about in the history and geography lessons of America’s one-room schools. Truly World War 1 changed us forever. Surely, seeing the grandeur of Europe fueled some of the energy that depicted the Roaring 20’s only a few short years after the boys returned home. One famous song of the era asks, ‘How ya’ gonna keep ‘em down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paris?’

My grandfather was a WW1 soldier. Our family has literally stacks of letters that were written between he and my grandmother, who was then only his girlfriend, sent from Colon, Michigan to Oregon and Washington states and back. One such stack of these letters fell into my keeping. I never had the pleasure of knowing my grandfather. He died in 1937; so reading the letters that he and grandma sent back and forth is precious to me. He wanted to go to France and do his part—he said so in the letters. But he was never sent there. He remained on duty in Oregon, cutting timber from the massive forests to be used in the war effort. He wrote to my grandma of his desire to go to France and that he was not afraid, but actually anxious. Reading the letters alongside the many pictures of my Grandma in the styles of the day makes a pretty good historical record. Pictures of Grandpa in his uniform adorned my home growing up and now one in an old oval frame hangs on the wall of my parlor.

The letters are like history lessons. The everyday things spoken of are valuable insights into life in during the war. In one letter, Grandma mentions, “today I saw an automobile!” She also speaks of buying her first camera and Grandpa asks her if she’d like to have a commemorative set of buttons that were like the ones on his uniform because all the fellas are buying them for their girls!

In all this talk of eras it reminds me that life is but a vapor, just like the Bible declares. In 1 Chronicles 12, verse 32 the Bible speaks of the “sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,” Are we like the sons of Issachar having an understanding of our times with the knowledge of what to do? It is becoming increasingly obvious that the age in which we now live, the church age, is rapidly drawing to a close. Signs of the times are everywhere. The most important knowledge to have is the knowledge that you are saved and ready to meet Jesus when He returns. Check your spiritual temperature. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Take time today to pray and set things right in your heart. The Lord is longing to fellowship with you. Invest time in others—this is an effort that will last. I am trying diligently to be a good granny, looking forward to passing on the values and truths of Christianity to Emma, our granddaughter. Tomorrow, more about Emma!

Blessings, LORI