What Happens in Old Age

Getting old is no fun, but I tell people all the time it’s better than the alternative. One of the reasons why so many dislike the senior years could be explained by the following story.  An elderly woman called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car had been broken in to. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher: "They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!" she cried. The dispatcher said, "Stay calm. An officer is on the way." A few minutes later, the officer radios in. "Disregard." He says. "She got in the back-seat by mistake." It’s no secret that old age brings with it all kinds of issues; memories fade, our eyes dim, joints get stiff and muscles lose their strength. And these are just some of the things we’re not embarrassed to mention; the rest I’ll leave to your imagination. While all of us enter into the olden years, I’ve learned this season of life can also be the golden years. A mere reading of the Scripture verifies this fact, especially when we look into the lives of people like: Abraham, Sarah, Caleb, and Samuel. When you look at their legacy, most of the significant things accomplished were during the older years of life.  Often people enter this season of life allowing themselves to become bitter, broken, or unproductive.  However, this is not God’s plan for us.  Why do I say that? Remember who it was that called those previously mentioned. It was the Creator Himself. He chose old people to do great things. That being said, the seasoning of life presents to us great opportunities. We find ourselves older but also more experienced; having less time in which to do the task, but more time to actually do it. The quality of our future depends on the choices we make. We can dry up or dress up, procrastinate or produce, rust out or rev up. Maybe it’s time we climbed out of the back seat got back under the steering wheel and drove into the future of great possibility.