On Aging

 

Hello friends,

It seems we were on the road more last week than we were at home. Who knew retirement would be so busy? The garden is beginning to give us those long-awaited home-grown tomatoes, cucumbers and even an eggplant. We had rain on Saturday morning, just over half an inch. The downside of that was the accompanying hail. Most of the garden will recover and we are thankful for that.

 

The county fairs are wrapping up, and schools will soon be starting. The state fair is just around the corner, and one wonders where the summer went!

 

Seasons change in the lives of people, just as they change on the calendar. Our lives have been characterized as Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and I can’t argue with that reasoning. The Bible speaks to the topic of aging, perhaps Solomon’s writings in Ecclesiastes say it best.

 

To the young he wrote, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them.” Solomon goes on to describe the process of aging as different functions of the body begin to deteriorate. Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. Solomon’s final words sum it all up this way: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Verse 13).

 

The Christian, no matter their season of life, can depend on God to be faithful to His word. In Isaiah 46:4, God told His people Israel, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will rescue you.”

 

Only God knows how many years he has ordained for each of us. “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be’ (Psalm 139:16).

 

I don’t know what season I am in, but I’m pretty sure spring and summer are behind me. This I know, if He gives me more days, I will continue to sing His praises. As the psalmist wrote, “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles (Psalm 34:6).

 

In His grip,

Pastor Jerry