June 02
Aging
I am old and stricken in age.
Joshua 23:2 (KJV)
... our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses ...
Hebrews 4:15 (NCV)
... he will change our simple bodies and make them like his own glorious body.
Colossians 3:21 (NCV)
Baldness, wrinkles and growing weak. I am becoming more aware: my body is aging. Deteriorating. Slowly falling apart.
It became obvious a couple weeks ago while playing touch football with my three boys. Certainly, our backyard game was fun, and yes, I managed to score a touchdown or two on our limited field, but it’s only because sheer cunning, experience and trick plays can make a difference. Nevertheless, the soreness, the stiffness, and that little twitch in the lower back remind me, I’m aging. I have to face my personal truth: the glory days went bye-bye sometime last century!
I looked in the mirror this morning and got another reminder. Where did all these wrinkles come from? Etched lines chiseled under my eyes and angled across my cheeks like tiny scratches. I gave myself an exaggerated smile and so many more came out of hiding like rats abandoning a sinking ship! I smile at myself in the looking glass and picture myself as the next sideshow for Wringling Brothers. Behold: the Wrinkled Man!
It’s good to make light of our weaknesses, but there is a more serious side as well. I see it every month as I visit my parents. Recently Mom ordered a strap for Dad. Parkinson’s has left him with an uncontrollable case of the leans. Now she can strap him upright in his chair, so he won’t fall into his dinner plate or worse! But there’s good news too. Dad still has his mind, and to me, that’s like ... everything.
Someone will ask him, “How are you, Phil?”
“Lousy!” he replies with a huge boyish grin.
I think my father has done more than fair enough, and I hope I have some of his attitude when I reach 91! Certainly, as humans in a fallen world, we will experience the aging process, but thank God, there’s more to life than growing old. In Colossians, Paul rings the bell of promise. Hey, guess what? There’s a new tailor-made body coming at the end, and you’re going to love it. Talk about buff!
Yeah, I see my body in the mirror, and groan, but then ... I hear Paul ringing his bell in Colossians, and that, my friend, is a lovely sound indeed!
Father, thank You for being with me, with all of us, through this aging process. May many more come to realize Your greatest promise. Amen.
Aging
I am old and stricken in age.
Joshua 23:2 (KJV)
... our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses ...
Hebrews 4:15 (NCV)
... he will change our simple bodies and make them like his own glorious body.
Colossians 3:21 (NCV)
Baldness, wrinkles and growing weak. I am becoming more aware: my body is aging. Deteriorating. Slowly falling apart.
It became obvious a couple weeks ago while playing touch football with my three boys. Certainly, our backyard game was fun, and yes, I managed to score a touchdown or two on our limited field, but it’s only because sheer cunning, experience and trick plays can make a difference. Nevertheless, the soreness, the stiffness, and that little twitch in the lower back remind me, I’m aging. I have to face my personal truth: the glory days went bye-bye sometime last century!
I looked in the mirror this morning and got another reminder. Where did all these wrinkles come from? Etched lines chiseled under my eyes and angled across my cheeks like tiny scratches. I gave myself an exaggerated smile and so many more came out of hiding like rats abandoning a sinking ship! I smile at myself in the looking glass and picture myself as the next sideshow for Wringling Brothers. Behold: the Wrinkled Man!
It’s good to make light of our weaknesses, but there is a more serious side as well. I see it every month as I visit my parents. Recently Mom ordered a strap for Dad. Parkinson’s has left him with an uncontrollable case of the leans. Now she can strap him upright in his chair, so he won’t fall into his dinner plate or worse! But there’s good news too. Dad still has his mind, and to me, that’s like ... everything.
Someone will ask him, “How are you, Phil?”
“Lousy!” he replies with a huge boyish grin.
I think my father has done more than fair enough, and I hope I have some of his attitude when I reach 91! Certainly, as humans in a fallen world, we will experience the aging process, but thank God, there’s more to life than growing old. In Colossians, Paul rings the bell of promise. Hey, guess what? There’s a new tailor-made body coming at the end, and you’re going to love it. Talk about buff!
Yeah, I see my body in the mirror, and groan, but then ... I hear Paul ringing his bell in Colossians, and that, my friend, is a lovely sound indeed!
Father, thank You for being with me, with all of us, through this aging process. May many more come to realize Your greatest promise. Amen.