What Worries Broderick And Lillian

Sitting in his arm chair after a day of work, Broderick scanned the headlines of the evening paper.

Many of the stories seemed to repeat themselves.  It had been 10 years since the end of the Great War.  Europe was still struggling to get back on its feet.  There had been riots in Germany.  The authorities were still trying to update the statistics about the Spanish Flu, analyzing the worldwide death toll and its economic impact.

Other news seemed promising.  The stock market was booming.  More people were buying their first cars.  He and his wife Lillian were thinking about buying one of the new wireless radios that had recently gone on the market.

Lillian came in with her tea, and sat on the love seat.  “Anything interesting?” she asked.

Broderick didn’t look up from the paper.  After a moment he answered.  “The Williamson’s boy is home from that sanitarium.  They’re calling it shell-shock.  Gilbert told me that the last time they saw him he still couldn’t speak.  The shelling in those trenches was horrific.”

He looked on another page.  “Another raid on a speakeasy, but you know most of them still operate without interference.”

Lillian shook her head, remembering the rumored bribes that were being paid so that officials looked the other way.

“Other than that, it’s the same stories about people going wild these days” he added.

They sat for a moment.  Broderick still scanning the paper, Lillian staring at the fireplace.

Lillian seemed exasperated.  “It’s as if after the slaughter of the Great War, and so many young people and children dying within a day of that cursed flu, the country seems to have become so relieved to be alive that they’ve lost all sense of restraint.  They’ve lost their minds, their inhibitions, their morals.”

“I know, I know” he agreed as he turned the page.  “The parties have gotten out of control.  What you said, and the booming market, makes everyone believe nothing can happen to them now.  They think they’re invincible.  Prohibition was supposed to make things better but I think it backfired.  It seems to have encouraged people to break the law, which has inspired them to throw away any moral guidance they’ve ever had.”

“It makes me worry about Robert and Dorothy” she said.  “We’ve done our best to raise them right but I worry about how they’ll turn out.  I know they’re still young but they aren’t blind.  They see and hear what’s going on and you know it’s effecting them.”

She went on, almost without catching a breath.  “My nephews make it worse.  They stop by and brag about their wild parties.  And those drunk girls they brought with them.  Shameful!  I can’t believe my brother is letting them go on like that.”

“They’re grown men and can do what they want” Broderick said without taking his eyes off the paper.  “All we can do is set a different example, not just for Robert and Dorothy, but for those nephews of yours.  We can be ready to help them pick up the pieces when their good times come to an end.  And we can keep praying, not just for them but for ourselves that we won’t give up on them.”

They sat in silence. after the nation had gone through so much, and people were finally able to let off some steam, it seemed that many had lost their way.

But not everyone.  Broderick and Lillian and other families of faith were grateful that their trust in and obedience to God had helped them not only weather the storms, but also encouraged them to remain faithful to the Christian foundation upon which they had always relied.

Broderick and Lillian knew for their own sake, and for Robert and Dorothy and their children and grandchildren, that they had to hold on to the only thing that was solid and firm and dependable.  Their faith, built on rock not sand [Matt: 7:24-27] would keep them and the generations of the faithful who followed their example, protected in the long run.

Tragedies happen to all.  But what mattered most was their commitment to trusting he who would always be there for them.

They kept their eyes on that which is eternal, and would not allow themselves to be sidetracked by the temporary.

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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis

Copyright © 2021 by Dave Soucie.  All rights reserved [but permission is granted for non-commercial use only, with proper citation].

PostScript for “What Worries Broderick and Lillian”

I had debated whether to include some explanation of my last article. I decided it could be a distraction, or anti-climactic.

Some have begun to draw parallels between the 1920s and the 2020s. There are some similarities. Yet what they went through was far more traumatic than what we’ve experienced this past year. Not to minimize our losses, but the horror of World War I and the devastating effects of the Spanish Flu were far worse.

We can however appreciate the similarities of how different people respond to tragedy. True spiritual principles never expire, and are as helpful today as they were 100 years ago, and back much much further.