AGING

Joshua 14:10-13—“Now then, just as the Lord promised, He has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time He said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said.” Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

Alas, we live in a society that desperately wants to deny the reality of aging. Aging is:

· The warm-up act for death—which explains why almost everyone wants to arrive late to the show.

· The car that runs 35 on a 55 mph freeway with no exits called Compassion.

· Grandpa’s welcome sound of silence in a noisy room where repeated phrases scornfully imply he’s stupid not hard of hearing.

· The forgotten memory of I forget what.

· The symptom of a race diseased by disobedience.

· A graceful dance in a land where fast beats and heavy bass rule.

· The compilation of history, a treasure chest of wisdom that is too often shirked for clever sound bites.

· The end of the cycle: receiving care, demanding care, careless, caring, careful, demanding care, receiving care.

· The dignified white peak, or a shining crown of a rounded mountain that experiences more land slides.

· When a face lift may not mean a smile.

· The ability to nod off while perpendicular to the ground.

· When routine becomes more important than activities.

· The recognition that convalescent home is an oxymoron.

· Detested by those who disdain life but want nothing to do with death, an interesting paradox.

· The testimony of grace for those who walk with the Ancient of Days.

For those who can no longer fit all the birthday candles on the cake, may the spirit of Caleb be your mantle. May you see each day as a new blessing because you are closer to Jesus, wiser in knowledge, courageous in faith!

Inspiration

The mature saint is just like a little child, absolutely simple and joyful and happy. Go on living the life that God would have you live and you will grow younger instead of older. There is a marvelous rejuvenescence when you let God have His way. If you are feeling very old, then get born again and go to it.—Oswald Chambers in The Psychology of Redemption