A couple of years ago, Bonnie was talking with our physician about our plan to move into a house with fewer stairs. We both had fallen several times and felt a one-story would be much safer. Our physician said, “That makes sense; at your age, you have to be extremely cautious.” She then added something that made Bonnie freeze, “It is nice that you have someone to be with ‘in your end times’.”
“My end times?” Bonnie repeated to me what the doctor had said. “Holy Moly, I never thought of these as my end times.”
For those who don’t know us, as of this writing, Bonnie is Seventy-three and I am seventy-five (Chronologically). When it comes to our thinking, either of us can be as child-like as a five-year-old or as wise as a sage, depending on what each day presents. To us, a day without laughter is sad.
A wise man once said, “Old age is a state of mind. If you don’t like the state you are in, move!”
Perhaps you recall the story of Abram (later renamed Abraham). He lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old. Abram was seventy-five when he packed up his family and set out for the promised land. Seventy-five! Imagine what we would have missed had he decided he was too old.
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:4 (NIV)
Feel like you are in your end times? If so, make the most of them. Hear and claim for yourself the words Jeremiah gave to the Israelites: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13
Every evening, I call my eighty-eight-year-old sister and ask, “What adventures did you have today?” Our dad used to tell us, “As long as you are green, you continue to grow…That’s biblical:
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:12-14
Do you realize that you can be a tremendous natural resource? If you have children and grandchildren, you can share your life experiences with them. Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.
Proverbs 17:6
You can also share your faith and wisdom with friends and/or caregivers. Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12
Perhaps Bonnie’s doctor was speaking about the end times rather than Bonnie’s end times. If so, words from the book of Daniel encourage us to be prepared.
“‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever. Daniel 12:3 (MSG)
None of us is stamped with a “use-by” date. The end times are just the beginning.
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 carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)
Blessings,
Don & Bonnie Sennott
Image courtesy of justbeingme1.blogspot.com
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