“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)
It comes as a shock, and it shouldn’t. We look in the mirror and see new wrinkles, graying hair, sometimes a person we hardly recognize. We wonder, “How did I get this old? It seems just like yesterday that I was a child, a teen, a young man.”
Today I must admit simply that I am old. Not an easy admission because when I was young I remember what I thought of old people. Old people were out of touch, could not do anything fun, mostly sat around getting older. Now I am one of them.
Growing older does not have to be a burden. Though there are some things we simply must accept in an aging body, we need not accept bitterness, grumpiness, or a complaining attitude.
My grandmother collected dolls into her old age. I enjoyed the look on her face when she would pick one of them up. It was almost as if I could still see the little girl still inside of her.
I think that is the way to be. We ought to grow wiser, more understanding of the faults of others, and generally kinder in our later years. But I think it is also important that somewhere inside we keep alive the child, the sense of wonder, the sense of excitement. I think Jesus meant something of the kind when He said we must be like little children to enter His kingdom. (Mark 10:15)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to keep the child alive, even as we grow and mature and waste away outwardly, keep us renewed inwardly. Amen.
It comes as a shock, and it shouldn’t. We look in the mirror and see new wrinkles, graying hair, sometimes a person we hardly recognize. We wonder, “How did I get this old? It seems just like yesterday that I was a child, a teen, a young man.”
Today I must admit simply that I am old. Not an easy admission because when I was young I remember what I thought of old people. Old people were out of touch, could not do anything fun, mostly sat around getting older. Now I am one of them.
Growing older does not have to be a burden. Though there are some things we simply must accept in an aging body, we need not accept bitterness, grumpiness, or a complaining attitude.
My grandmother collected dolls into her old age. I enjoyed the look on her face when she would pick one of them up. It was almost as if I could still see the little girl still inside of her.
I think that is the way to be. We ought to grow wiser, more understanding of the faults of others, and generally kinder in our later years. But I think it is also important that somewhere inside we keep alive the child, the sense of wonder, the sense of excitement. I think Jesus meant something of the kind when He said we must be like little children to enter His kingdom. (Mark 10:15)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to keep the child alive, even as we grow and mature and waste away outwardly, keep us renewed inwardly. Amen.
Karlton Douglas
Copyright 2016
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