One of my favorite exercises to keep my mind sharp while also feeding my spirit is to memorize God’s Word; specifically some of the Psalms. Since there’s 150 Psalms and I’ve memorized like 7 I’m hardly in line for a medal; however as I do get older and my mind becomes more selective, memorizing things that matter is part of my “activity” to age gracefully.
A favorite of mine is Psalm 92 and specifically how it compares the righteous (God’s people) to the growth of a palm tree, and that it still bears fruit, even unto old age (Ps 92:12-15). I remember reading this verse to my mother a couple years ago when she was questioning why she was still alive even after my father and most of her siblings had passed away.
The truth is that only God knows the number of our days, but how we spend those days is where we get to participate. I love seeing older folks actively participating in life. About a year ago we had a couple join our small group at the ripe age of 83 & 82. Imagine joining something brand new, meeting new people, and then faithfully attending and actively participating week after week.
People like that inspire me, but they also remind me that my role is to engage with them, thank them and encourage them. The elderly have so much to offer; in some ways the modern church has suffered because we’ve relegated those senior to us as too old to add any value….as if they were only there to warm to pews and add to the count.
Wisdom and experience is invaluable, but what older folks do more than anything else is bear fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control; these are the “fruit of the spirit” that our elderly couple display each time we’re with them. In return they don’t ask for special accommodations although we try to assist where we can.
Instead they look for the one thing they’ve certainly earned and we can all do with ease: treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve!
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