Moon Pies, RC Cola, and the Grace of Change

Remember Moon Pies? Two graham crackers with a marshmallow filling in the middle, dipped in chocolate—or, if you were lucky, covered with that wonderful banana-flavored coating. And what about RC Cola?

Growing up, it was a special treat whenever Daddy stopped at the little country store to fill the truck with gas and pick up groceries or farm supplies. If I came home with an RC Cola and a Moon Pie, life couldn’t get much better. At least that’s how it seemed to a little boy.

Back then, Moon Pies seemed enormous—soft, fresh, and just about perfect. Today they seem smaller, and somehow they don’t taste quite the same. Maybe they really have changed. Or maybe I have.

RC Cola is even harder to find these days. It makes me wonder how many things quietly disappear while we’re busy living our lives.

Have you ever noticed how everything changes over time?

I certainly have.

There was a time when I had a full head of hair. Now I’m bald. Once I could run down the steep hills around our old farmhouse without giving it a second thought. Today I watch every step I take. My knees remind me that I have lived a few years.

Nothing stays the same.

We can spend our days lamenting the changes, wishing we could return to “the good old days.” I confess, I do that sometimes. Do you?

Then I remember something else.

I remember a world without cell phones, computers, or the internet. Televisions had only a handful of channels, and there were no streaming services, GPS, or online shopping.

Would I really want to go back?

Not completely.

There are many things about today that make life easier, safer, and more connected.

But there are some things I miss.

I miss front porches.

I miss sitting outside on a summer evening while neighbors wandered over to visit. We didn’t need an invitation. Someone would pull up a chair, shell peas, sip sweet tea, and tell stories that had been passed down through the generations.

If the St. Louis Cardinals were playing, we’d have the radio on. Jack Buck’s voice floated across the porch while the whip-poor-wills called from the woods. Sometimes someone would tell a funny family story. Other times it was a ghost story that made us glance nervously toward the dark yard before bedtime.

A direct message on a phone just isn’t the same as sitting beside someone.

A perfectly produced television show can’t replace hearing an uncle tell a story that grows just a little bigger every time it’s told.

Sometimes I catch myself wondering, Am I just getting old?

Maybe.

Or maybe I’m simply remembering that some things are worth holding onto—not because they’re old, but because they’re deeply human.

The truth is, change is part of life. It always has been.

The challenge isn’t to resist change. It’s to carry the best of the past into the present.

So today I choose gratitude.

I’m thankful for Moon Pies and RC Cola. I’m thankful for smartphones that let me stay in touch with my children and grandchildren. I’m thankful for memories that still make me smile. Most of all, I’m thankful that while the world around me keeps changing, God’s faithfulness does not.

As the psalmist reminds us, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

So I’ll enjoy today’s blessings, cherish yesterday’s memories, and trust God with tomorrow.

After all, the sweetest things in life were never really the Moon Pie or the RC Cola.

They were the people who shared them with me.