One of the biggest changes involves your health. Hopefully you are able to afford health insurance whose costs rise each year, especially when you are on a fixed income with no annual increases. And I've never expected that I would have three major surgeries and two additional hospital stays in less than two years. But I did. And I never thought about living with health problems that confound the doctors. Nor did I ever think about having problems walking. But it happened anyway.
I never really thought about days when I would struggle to take care of my property. I did, however, think about the time when I might need to pay folks to do some of this work. But that becomes expensive - if you can even find somebody to do it. Because of our heart problems I have been looking for somebody I could pay to do my snow removal. But I can't find anybody. But the repairs, upkeep and needs go on anyway. Frustrating.
Then there is the increasing cost of living when you are on a pension that hasn't increased in 15 years and never will. But things still increase - taxes, fuel, food, clothing, medical costs, medicines, home repairs, auto repairs and almost everything.
But that is enough of being negative. I'm not really complaining. God has been so good and has given me all that I really need. He hasn't forgotten me and He knows my needs. I have been blessed and am so much better off than so many other seniors.
Now I do miss my mother and father who are both with the Lord. Mother was taken home in an auto accident 23 years ago. Dad was taken home about this time of the year eight years ago. After mother's death we went out to eat with Dad almost every Friday night and Sunday's after church. I especially miss those times because of Dad's wisdom and advice. He could repair almost anything, he was astute at financial matters, he studied and understood the Bible, he had a wealth of practical wisdom gained through difficult life experiences, he was a wise counselor, he modeled real faith and service for the Lord, and he had a tender heart. And I miss my times with him. But I would not want either back to face the challenges of the world in which we now live.
I never thought about the days when I would be an orphan, but in one sense that will happen to most of us. As our parents age we can anticipate that day, even though we certainly don't look forward to it.
But a few days ago I heard an old hymn that comforted me by reminding me that I am not an orphan. I actually have a Father who holds the wealth of the world in His hands. He has adopted me and now I am an heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown. You see, I am a child of the King. And as the cares and changes of growing older come, I need not fear or despair. I am His workmanship and He holds my life in His hands. All is really under His control. And He is always just a prayer away with His guidance and peace and strength. What more could I want?
Now I don't who really reads my crazy blog, so I don't know your needs. But I am sure that you do have needs and things that worry you. It might not be the challenges of growing older. But no mater what your concerns may be, maybe, if you have accepted the Lord's free gift of salvation, the words of this old hymn might be the reminder that you need today.
1. My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold,
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King.
With Jesus my Savior
I'm a child of the King.
2. My Father's own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His when He comes by and by.
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I'm a child of the King.
3. I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I'm a child of the King.
4. A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They're building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
All glory to God, I'm a child of the King.
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I'm a child of the King.
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