I’ve come to the conclusion that if I have to get down on my knees for any reason, I better think of all the tasks I need to do before getting up again.  The up and down process is killing me.  The fact that my knees have taken a beating in the past year doesn’t help.  I’ve also decided that my original height must’ve been 6’3″ tall.  I’m now 5’1″ and all that excess baggage has fallen directly to my hips.

Growing old is definitely not for sissies. The fact that a person has endured for more than seven decades is really an accomplishment in our day and age.  Don’t tell that to Methuselah though.  He lived to be 969 years old.  Imagine the aches and pains he had to endure.

Today, the average life span in the United States is 79.3.  You’d think that over so many centuries, and with all the advancements in health care, people would live much longer than they did in the early days since creation.   My point is that no matter when we’re born, or what the circumstances of the world, we’re probably going to grow old and we should be prepared for it.

This is what we can expect:  Sight and hearing fade and even disappear altogether.  Skin sags and turns to crepe paper.  I learned that term while channel surfing and came upon a show, “How to deal with crepey skin.”  Actually, like all living things, we dry up over time.  Our hair falls out along with our teeth.  Our bones become weaker and our muscles evade us for the rest of time.  If we’re fortunate, our minds still function, but we’re constantly reminded that we’re becoming forgetful and our concentration isn’t what it used to be.  We sleep more.  We feel useless at times.  Every little thing creates fear of some incurable disease.  Our friends are going to heaven before us.  In other words, my friends, we’re dying.

For many, this is the end of the road.  I can’t imagine having any zest for living if I thought this was all there was.  With nothing to look forward to, it all seems meaningless.  King Solomon knew all about stuff like that.  He lived life to full capacity.  He had it all – money, property, servants, great clothes, women, success, power, the whole shebang and yet he thought it all meaningless.

The things of this world, including our youth, money, success and power have no value when you face death. You came into the world with nothing and will leave the same way.  So what’s the purpose of living?  It isn’t to grab all the gusto we can by experiencing all of it.  It isn’t the eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die philosophy. It does call on us to be an instrument for God’s work to be done on earth.  With that in mind, we’re not restricted by age.  In fact our age often gives us the necessary experience to share with others.

Psalm 34:17-20  

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones;
    not one of them is broken.

That alone should be encouragement for those of us facing the aging process. We know that this isn’t all there is.  An eternity in paradise is waiting for us on the other side of the grave- a place of perfection, with bodies that never age and minds that are clear every day. That is the best insurance policy we can have.