Sandwiched by Martin Wiles

I’m a Baby Boomer, and at times I feel sandwiched.

Baby Boomers represent 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964. I barely made it in, but I’m beginning to feel the pinch nevertheless. For those younger 30-somethings waiting for us to retire, we may be perceived as irritants. But for us, we’re wondering if we’ll have a retirement.

More importantly, Baby Boomers are dealing with taxing life issues, among them being sandwiched between multiple layers of responsibilities. All, however, are encapsulated in the following statement. But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith (I Timothy 5:8 NLT).

Many of our parents are still alive but have reached the age where they need assistance. I discovered this recently when my mother spent a few days in the hospital after several fainting episodes. No abnormalities were discovered; we simply diagnosed it as dehydration. The doctor nestled in a chair between us and reminded her that her children must now become the parent and she the child. His statement constituted one layer of the sandwich.

The other layer of bread is adult children who continually seem to return or who need frequent help managing their schedules and their children’s. For some of us, a grandparent’s work is never done.

So how do we survive the sandwich without it devouring us? By repeatedly modeling and teaching responsibility to our adult children. We love to help, but after all these are YOUR kids. By remembering the years of care our parents gave us and reciprocating with patience, love, and kindness. And above all else-while groveling in the sandwich, by remembering our purpose to glorify God in everything we say, do, and think. After all, one day we’ll be the outer layer of bread.

Prayer: Heavenly Lord, we pray for strength, wisdom, and guidance to care for those You’ve placed in our families.

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