From the Pulpit…

Growing Older

When I was young, I made faces in the mirror. Now that I’m older, the mirror’s getting even. I heard people my age should start thinking about the hereafter. I already do. There are many times I go somewhere and ask myself, “What am I here after?”
Every January, I face the reality of waking up and finding myself a year older. All my life I’ve been taught to respect my elders. Now I am one. I’m reminded of what one friend shared with me, “You know you are getting older when you try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks only to find you aren’t wearing any.”
Someone compared it to being like an automobile. As it gets older, the differential starts slipping, and the u-joints get worn, causing the drive shaft to go bad. The transmission won't go into high gear and sometimes has difficulty getting out of low. The carburetor gets fouled with pollutants and other matter, making it hard to get started in the morning. It’s hard to keep the radiator filled because of the leaking hose. The thermostat goes out, making it difficult to reach operating temperature. The headlights grow dim, the horn gets weaker, and the battery needs constant recharging.
So what are we to do? We can’t avoid birthdays, so we might as well celebrate them. Let us welcome them as melodies in our lifesong; as mile-stones on our road of life.
Yes, it may be true that the “Golden Years” aren’t so golden, and what once swung now bounces; and what once was tight, now sags. We can no longer eat like a horse and not look like one. We may face the reality that everything hurts when we wake up, and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work.
Ponce De Leon didn’t find the Fountain of Youth, and neither will we. The calendar pages still turn, the clock still ticks, and the body still gets older.
But just because we are near the top of the hill doesn’t mean we’ve passed our peak. The wisest are not the ones with the most years in their lives, but the most life in their years. Our final chapters can be our best. Our final song can be our greatest. Our final works can be our most magnificent.
J.C. Penny was 95 years old when he stated, “My eyesight might be getting weaker, but my vision is increasing.
Throughout the Scriptures, God’s oldest always seem to be first team material. Look at Abraham and Sarah, Noah, and Moses. God uses the chronologically gifted.
We were made to live forever. Now, however, we live but for a moment. Seize the moment. Life may not be fair, but God is good. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. We may not know exactly what tomorrow may bring, but we know who holds our future and what our future holds. Praise be to God!