We all hope we will live a long time upon this earth…not because we are so special or know all the answers, but since we have taken all this time to learn some of the facts of life, we would like to test them out. For that reason, it is important to “age well!”
At a recent gathering of some of the Schroeder women…three sisters, one in-law and one niece and her sister in-law, we began discussing some of the merits (and downfalls) of aging.
The one thing or malady we all had in common was that of remembering things, especially names of people we come in contact with. All through the afternoon, we would be talking and as we wanted to relate a certain incident or name, our mind would go blank. It would have been embarrassing, had it not been for the fact, we all did it. We did come to the realization that this is one of the maladies of getting older. Along with the relatives, I find this is also true in all the gatherings of us “more mature” people.
It is no wonder that the comment of George Burns, the comedian many years ago made this observation: “By the time you’re eighty, you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it!” And that seems to be where the rub comes in. Possibly our minds by now are so full, we have to dig around in our brain to come to the right answer.
Perhaps it is a good thing we don’t remember all our life lessons at one time or we would certainly be overwhelmed. They only come to mind when we need them. This is probably God’s way of keeping us sane as we live out the rest of our days, at least on this earth.
Do you remember when you were young, how important it was to do things “right” or “by the book” or by the way the people in your community did? As we get older we understand more and more how we are to do things as God leads us. It isn’t necessarily always the same way. In carrying out the missions God gives us, are we able to follow His leading even though it’s different than we have ever done it before?
Ann Landers, the famous advice columnist of yesteryear. penned these words “At age 20, we worry about what others think of us, at 40, we don’t care, at 60, we find out they haven’t been thinking of us at all!
Why then, do we put so much stock in what others think of us, when in truth, we are not even on their radar screen? Who should we try to please…God who wants the best for us or man who probably doesn‘t?
When we were young, we wanted to be like everyone else and always wanted to be the smartest, the prettiest, the best at what we did. When we were middle aged, we began to see there are differences and we didn’t have to be all alike. Then, as we are considered “in the older generation,” we know we are here for a purpose because we are still alive.
As we reached the golden years, life begins to look different to each of us. We wonder why we spent so much time doing things like everyone else when we perhaps had a better way of doing it. Why didn’t we follow our instincts if we thought we had a better way instead of sticking to “this is the only way.”
Why didn’t we voice our thinking when we had a chance or when God gave us a nudge? If anyone ran down our country, why didn’t we speak up? Why didn’t we explain what it was like in the 30s and 40s when life was simple and good because we were doing the things ordained by God and following His leading? Life was much simpler and uncomplicated before the modern day of technology.
We could have followed the advice of our president, Abe Lincoln. “You can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power!” Not many people are able to remain humble, even though it is only God who gives power in the right way.
We should have listened when Lincoln said “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves!”
No, we probably didn’t do the bad things that are destroying our nation, but we are keeping quiet when they run down our country’s morals, constitution and our God.
How do you suppose God wants us to use the brains that we still have. Should we let them wither away from disuse or can we utilize them until we go to heaven, with even, perhaps, a little God-given wisdom. Let us age well! It is what God wants us to do!
