Ageless Delight

“That I may finish my course with joy!” (Acts 20:24).

A number of years ago, when Carolyn's mother was still living, we attended an event at her retirement home. There we saw two centenarians dancing! "Lucky stiffs," was the phrase that floated through my mind. 

A few fortunate senior citizens, like this couple, grow old with very few parts out of order, but for most of us, aging exacts a heavy toll. We don't get around much anymore.

But to think of all the things we used to do and can’t do only makes a body feel worse. It’s much better to poke fun at ourselves rather than grumble and complain. Thomas Aquinas said, “Those without a sense of fun, who never say anything ridiculous, and are cantankerous with those who do… are called grumpy and rude.”

Stiff joints, arthritic backs, hearing and memory loss, failing eyesight and stumbling gait are no fun, but we can survive them by managing to see them, despite everything, as desperately funny.

How can we gain and keep that perspective? Well… it’s a matter of trust: accepting our Father’s "wise bestowment" (our present condition, what the Bible calls our “lot”); reveling in His unconditional love and kindhearted care in the present; and counting on His unbreakable promise that someday soon He will take us home where He will cure all that ails us and Love will enfold us forever. 

These are the truths that satisfy and sustain us as we age, and enable us to finish our course with joy. 

David Roper

8/10/18