Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Devotional -Snapshot 42 - Aging

"It is the duty of the older members of God's community to teach the young what God has done in their elder's lives." NKJV Bible commentary pg. 831

Psalm 92:14 "They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."

I find the afternoon nap distasteful, not for my eighty-some parents. No, not for them. They have lived their life fully, richly, actively. Even now they still accomplish far more than the average. The afternoon nap is a crown of warm sunshine on their heads -keeping them energized in their final years. It is a sign of a job well done as they settle into their leather stuffed chairs.
No, it is when I see the third person with graying head resting on her arm draped over the small pillow on the couch. My own snore wakens me from my lethargic state. My sour mouth and my fuzzy head says it is time to move.

I should not be here. There is still so much of interesting life to live and do. I guess for me the afternoon nap is not a rest from labor but a retreat. It is a sign of my depression which constantly gnaws around the edges of my mind and wears me out. I sleep because I have no passion, no pressing needs to meet, no vision of heaven-decreed work to do.

I know it will not always be so. God is coming to my rescue. I will wait and pray. For my Lord sees all, knows all, controls all.

I still have a place -work to do which God has prepared for me before the world began. I am counting on the verse that says I will still bear fruit in old age. There are still people who need to know You love them. There are people who need to know Your word is powerful and living and able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. There are women who need help in respecting their husbands and loving their children. With Your enabling, I can do that.
The God who made me will carry me through to completion.

Do you let getting older bother you or do you look forward to the possibilities Christ has planned for you?

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