“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” Psalm 71:17-18 ESV
Recently, I had a brief conversation with my granddaughter Heather that I’ve been thinking about ever since. I was telling Heather that we lost another friend who passed away unexpectedly that day. She asked if it bothered me that we are seeing such a reality come to pass with friends because of our age. I thought about it and said, “Well, we are certainly aware that our time is shorter, although we don’t know when the Lord will call us home. It saddens us to lose friends, but we must keep living.” I told Heather that I don’t dwell on that aspect of life. Am I aware of it? Absolutely! Truly, my goal at this point is to do the best I can to take care of myself and my husband, to love our family, and to make each day count for the Lord. I love being with our precious little ones for they bring such joy to my heart. I love making memories as if I’ll be around another 60 years. But I do know the reality of it all. Heather suggested that I might still be around 30 years from now. 105? Maybe! I know she’s praying for that. Me, too.
I also told Heather that I think what a lot of young people might not understand about us “young seniors” (those classified as being in their 60s and 70s) is that deep inside, we still feel young. Oh, outwardly it wouldn’t appear so, for our bodies betray us in various ways. When we look in the mirror, we don’t recognize the person who is looking back at us. But in our hearts and minds, we still have hopes and dreams, and look ahead to many goals. Or at least I do. Inside, I’m still that young country girl who had no idea what real life was all about back in the day. One great thing about age is that along with it, comes a lot of wisdom. But then, we have to condense our wisdom into a shorter time frame.
As the scripture above alludes, for those of us who are believers in Christ and at any age, our greatest desire should be to pass our faith on to the next generation so those who come behind us will have that all-important legacy of faith. It should be the most important thing as we pray for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, asking the Lord to guide them in His ways and to help them see that things, money, status, and such will never satisfy them and are only temporary at best. Only God and His Word will last.
I believe as parents. grandparents, great-grandparents, and friends, we can make a difference in the lives of those we call ours. There’s never a stopping place when it comes to serving the Lord. We do not grow too old to tell others about Jesus. We are imperfect and have made mistakes along the way, but we can and must continue to make an eternal difference at this stage of our lives.
Life is short and eternity will be long, so let us continue to be a light shining in the darkness for those we love, which should include family, friends, and every person whose path we cross each day. May all who come behind us find us faithful.
Prayer: Dear God, You are the Giver and Sustainer of life and we honor You. We lift Your name on high for You alone are worthy to be praised. We could never thank You enough for all You have done for us. Over the years, we have experienced both failure and success, sorrow, and joy, as we maneuver this thing called life. Any success we have had is because of Your presence in our lives. Thank You for loving us that much and for being at our side during all seasons of our lives. We couldn’t have done it without You. Forgive us when we fail and help us to live in such a way that we truly do make a difference in the lives of our family members, friends, and everyone we meet. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
