AN ESSAY ON GETTING OLDER

 I have a senior friend at church who is fond of reminding me that "getting old ain't for sissies." I never appreciated what that meant until I got older.

It is sad when a vehicle starts breaking down the minute the manufacturer's warning expires. I'm convinced this happened to me at some point. The warranty expired and things that never hurt before now ache with a jarring regularity. Limbs that could climb a hill and dodge and weave in a backyard football game start to object upon arising from bed. When my older friends used to tell me about their medical issues, I used to nod in sympathy. Nowadays, I nod in affirmation, then share my own!

Do not misunderstand. I am far from "over-the-hill" or "washed up." Some wise choices early in life have held off some of the consequences of some not-so-wise choices.  Working in children's ministries for 15-plus years has permanently programmed my brain to "kid mode." My hobbies and interests skew "young." I laugh easily and have been known to break into song at a moment's notice. My ambition and dreams remain active. Like the fictional musical character of Hamilton, I feel compelled to "write like I'm running out of time." This last year, I've started a new project (which I will share another time). If anything, my curiosity and thirst for knowledge has increased.

No doubt, I have earned the gray in what is left of my hair. I am smarter, wiser and more determined in some areas than I ever was. I know more. But with that knowledge comes the realization that I do not know as much as I thought I did earlier in life. My heart breaks far easier at the growing divineness in our society, the embrace of things that God has warned us about, the presence of real injustice, and the knee-jerk abandonment of faith and values. I grieve for friends who have lost their lives--the number sadly grows--but I also grieve for those who have lost their love for their Creator.

Forgive me for using a stodgy expression, but as I think about this "stage of my life," I like what the psalmist says: 

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light."  (Psalm 36:7-9)

"Getting old ain't for sissies." But in the satisfaction of the Lord's presence, the years ahead are full of hope.