Growing Old

        One day this winter I was driving to church to do some work.  It had snowed the day before and as usual, Donerville Road was somewhat hazardous.  So I was surprised to see an elderly man with a cane walking along this dangerous two lane road.  Since I was concerned about driving this stretch I didn't think too much about him until later.  Then I began to feel a little guilty.  Did he need a ride?  Did he have a dementia problem?  Did anybody realize that he was walking alone?   But by then it was too late to for me to provide any help.
          But the more I thought about it the more I realized that my response was the same that most people have concerning the elderly.  We may pity them but we really don't take time to help them or spend time with them.  They belong in retirement homes or nursing homes.  We eliminate them from our gatherings and exclude them from our groups and activities, even things like age based Sunday School classes. Let them be with the old folks, not with us. They have no real value anymore, especially to us personally.  Now we might not be crude enough to say that, but our actions often show such an attitude.  When was the last time you took time to help a senior?  When was the last time you actually sat down with one to listen to them or to encourage them?  Maybe our lives would be enriched if we took time to treat them with respect as equals.

          As I thought about this elderly man I couldn't help but wonder what his life had been like.  Probably there were days when he played pickup games with his friends or rode in the back of a truck or on the running board of a car.  Probably he had many memories of times with his parents or delivering newspapers or playing on an athletic team at school.  Most likely he has memories of going out with his friends for ice cream and then dating the young girls.  Probably he remembers the love of his life, his wedding, his children.  Maybe he risked his life serving in one of the wars.  Was he a farmer, a laborer, an administrator, a boss?  He probably took memorable vacations and probably cheered for his favorite sports teams.  I'm sure that he had many of the same experiences that we have and still are able to enjoy.

          And I'm sure, just like us, he never thought that he would get old.  He never anticipated the arthritis, the cancer, the diseases that one day come to all of us, or the fact that so many body parts would no longer work. He never thought about the hours with doctors and having tests. He probably never thought the day would come when all of his close friends would die, but if we live long enough that happens.  He probably never thought about developing dementia or, even worse, having a spouse die or develop that dreaded disease or reach the point where she no longer even knew him.  He probably never thought that he would reach a point where he was a burden to everyone and no longer seen as useful to anyone.  But it happens.

          Unless the Lord takes us home we are all destined to experience that time in life that nobody anticipates.  If we have some family members who really care for us and take care of us, we are so fortunate.  For others will not do that.  They will avoid you and forget you.  They don't want to hear of your life experiences, the wisdom you have gained and could share, your aches and pains, your concerns or your daily challenges.  Growing old can be lonely as you wait for the end to come.

           As I grow older I am finding so much of this to be true.  But I am relying on the truth of the scriptures.   I am encouraged by that part of Ephesians 2:10 that says "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."  We are His workmanship - He has a masterplan for our lives.  Now that plan differs for each of us.  For my dear friend Paul it meant it ended here on earth before he reached 50, leaving a wife and small children behind.  For others, like my brother and Gary and Ralph and Norm it meant being taken home when they had reached retirement age.  We don't know what His plan for us might be - it might even include a nursing home - but we are to serve Him with each day that we are given.  We are His workmanship!

         As I age, Psalm 37:25 has become one of my favorite verses.  "I have been young and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread."  That is an encouraging realization as I age. He will provide just what I need, no matter how old I become. The Lord has promised never to leave us or forsake us.  While those in our neighborhood, our church, and maybe even our family forget us and avoid us, our Lord is always there, no matter how old we might be.  And, as a special bonus, He is preparing a special home for us where all the aches, pains, cancer and loneliness will be forgotten and gone.  We won't be excluded from things there.  We will be accepted and no longer lonely.

           May each of us accept the challenge to spend more time with the elderly and include them in our lives.  Take time to talk to them and let them share wisdom that they have gained over the years, for we may need it. But speak up when you talk for their hearing may be very limited. Include them in your activities and lives, for they may encourage you.  Remember them on important days, for one day you might be forgotten.  Treat them with respect, for one day you may walk in their shoes and may wish to be respected too.  Old age happens quickly.