Aging Gracefully

Aging Gracefully

We had a chat a while back with an older neighbor. She has given up gardening because it is beyond her strength. May we have such wisdom: realizing what we can no longer do and to give it up willingly, whole-heartedly. Then we can move on to what else the Lord has for us, so we can wisely and graciously make our way through the aging process.
 
Such wisdom will lead us to:
lift our souls to God every day, not storing up negatives, especially bad feelings;
praise in and for all that comes and goes;
let go of what we cannot keep;
let go of what tends to worry us (what will happen if…?) and let God handle them;
let go of our small desires, our focus on details and keep our eyes on the bigger picture;
remember our great purpose in life–to glorify God–and to do so in the small things as well as the big;
to deal with resolvable pain with what’s available: diet, exercise, weight loss, meds, etc.;
to continue to be teachable;
to focus on prayer, the Word, and reading good, edifying material;
to accept offered help;
to speak kindly and with patience;
to think of others;
to be generous;
to not fret about waste;
to make praise the keynote of our lives.
 
Such non-self-centered living will free us to enjoy what God has given us and to focus on the Joy that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, enduring whatever cross we may have, despising whatever shame we may feel, knowing that we are going to be seated with Him in heavenly places (Heb. 12:2). Let us embrace this great hope, great future and great purpose and rise above every situation.