What determines our worth? Are our looks really in this equation at all, or should they be? Sure, being healthy and active and fit are necessary for the ability to do and be more. Agree. But to dismiss our signs of aging as a bad thing HAS to go. Age is a gift – and let me be more specific – OLD age.
OLDER AND WISER
We tend to dismiss older people as, “Oh, they are just old.” Really? JUST old? Buddy, we have lived through some STUFF! What do you want to know? What can we teach you? What can we warn you about? Want to learn how to make bread? Older people are NOT a burden or a “has-been” or some random dusty antique – they are RELICS and survivors and warriors and walking encyclopedias of days gone by.
I think what is being lost is what the Bible speaks of when it refers to “generation to generation shall speak His praises…” Young people NEED the older people. Older people NEED the young people. We are all connected. It is NO shame to be young nor is it shameful to be old.
“Let this be recorded for a generation yet to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” (Psalm 102:18)
What an older person can leave behind will matter to those who come behind us. Think of all the amazing life lessons you have accumulated – Psalm 78:4 says NOT to hide them from their children but TELL to the coming generation. Tell what? TELL ABOUT GOD and His deeds and His wonders.
THIS right here – “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father and he will show you, and your elders – they will tell you.” (Deuteronomy 32:7) You must embrace the days gone by, the days you are in, and the ones you won’t see BUT can influence right now. THIS should be a JOY to our hearts/ not a dread. We get to determine how we walk ourselves into eternity. For me, I am learning to see this from a joyful and expectant and even exciting vantage point. What can I do? What can I BE? What legacy can I leave behind? Remember in Hebrews 11 it reminds us though we are dead and gone, STILL we will speak. What does that mean? Our legacy – what we purpose to leave behind will NOT be silenced by our physical absence. All the wows. Seriously, our bucket lists needs some renovations and revisions and updates.
LEAVE A CRUMB TRAIL
What an honor to still have time and opportunity to be a lighthouse for the lost, the battered and the broken. Teach them love, wisdom, forgiveness, when to speak or when to be silent; show them patience, teach humility, reinforce life skills, laugh often and loudly, take pictures, bake bread, journal your history and experiences, and be their refuge from a cruel world.
Dear anybody who is emotionally crippled by not seeing your self worth because you measure it by the world’s standards or the ticking of a clock. It is TIME to rise up and be the shining light of generations gone, here, and yet to come. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) What a privilege to be able to leave clues behind to get everyone HOME. If you are alive and breathing, you’ve still got time to leave a crumb trail behind for all those you love to follow.
Think of the end of your life’s journey as the ending to a book YOU get to write. Write a good one. And enjoy the rest of your journey home.
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