It seems that every day is a reminder of God’s grace in my life – especially when I get close to another birthday. Wrinkles and laugh lines have been apparent for a long time now, so they don’t really bother me any more. I’ve learned to laugh at my infirmities – like hearing loss, sagging body parts, failing eyesight and all the other things that go along with almost eight decades of living. As Paul and I read our daily devotion from David Kitz’s second volume of “Psalms 365,” this morning, it happened to be on the subject of aging.

Paul could totally relate to the physical aspects of aging. Years of abuse to his knees as he climbed mountains, trekked over hiking trails, played tennis, served as a Pioneer leader, worked on a farm, and did difficult tasks through out his 79 years has taken a toll on those knobby knees of his. I, on the other hand, have the knees of a 17 year old (so says the orthopedic doctor I saw a couple years ago.) I wonder why they hurt so much. Both of us get discouraged when we can’t do what we physically did only five years ago. When you’ve led a fruitful life with twists and turns throughout, it’s hard to slow down, so there are times when we have to accept the fact that we are growing old. The beautiful truth is that we’re doing it together.

We aren’t dead yet! There are days when we feel like it, but we press on for as long as God wants us to walk the earth. The legacy we leave will be reflected in our children, our grandchildren, future generations, those we’ve taught over the years and those we’ve learned from.

It is frustrating to see yourself becoming your aging mother. It’s hard realizing that your offspring are now taking over the parenting role and you have become their children. Giving up our independence is tough for any age, but we don’t have to throw in the towel yet. The golden years may be tarnished a bit, but it’s amazing what a little TarnX will do. The remedy is simple and it doesn’t require daily polishing, like the fine silver does. We learn to take one day at a time. Day by day, our path has already been planned for us. Fight as we will, we still want to be in charge, but maybe these aging days are meant for us to continue what we’ve been good at all our lives. We may not do so with the same gusto, but we will be doing what we love.

The aging process is not for the faint of heart, but we can take heart. Our journey is not yet over. God still has a purpose for our living. Some days I wish He’d spell it out clearly for us. but then where would the excitement be? Each day gifted to us is another opp;ortunity for us to share God’s love with others. Each day is another time of grace for us to grow closer to Him.