Sermon Illustrations on Old Age

The Graying of the Church, Etc.

Job 12:12

The problems and possibilities of the elderly in the church.

CT, "Graying of America," David O. Moberg, 11/20/81, p. 30.

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I. Duration of life is limited. Gen 6:3; Ps 90:3-6, etc.

A. Death is inevitable end of life. Heb 9:27

B. Human existence does not end at death. 1 Cor 15

II. Wise people should prepare for their future.

A. Future life in heaven.

B. Future life on earth. Ps 90:12; Prov 3:1-2, etc.

III. America is characterized by "ageism," prejudice against the old.

A. Instances occur in OT as well. 1 Kg 12:6-20; Job 32:4-10

1) Sometimes old were neglected. Ps 71:9-12,18 (inference)

B. Biblical instructions center on honoring parents. Exod 20:12

1) Was extended to respect for all elderly people. Lev 19:32;

1 Tim 5:1-21; 1 Pt 5:5

2) (If natural tendency, wouldn't have to be commanded.)

IV. How churches dishonor the old.

A. Emphasis on youth and young families.

B. Young chosen for leadership.

C. Personal worth equated with occupational roles; retired are

"nobodies."

D. Programs are centered on evenings, when elderly find it hard

to get out.

V. Ministries for, with and by the elderly.

A. They can still bring forth fruit in old age. *** Ps 92:14

CT, "The Old-Age Heresy," Tim Stafford, 9/16/91, p. 31.

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I. Avoided issue of taking care of father-in-law in old age.

A. We don't like to think about issue.

B. Every year you can do less, look worse.

C. This spiritual disease is widespread, so much so that euthanasia

has the appeal of mercy.

II. Bible presents old age in a bright light. (except for Eccl 12)

A. Bible is full of old people, with usual infirmities.

1) David can't get warm in own bed.

2) Isaac unable to tell his sons apart by sight or touch.

B. But old age is treated as a blessing.

1) Fondest wish is to die "full of years."

2) We are to number our days, not seek to escape them. Ps 90:12

3) Zechariah's lovely portrait of the restored Jerusalem has

elderly sitting in streets watching children. Zech 8:4-5

4) Death is "swallowed up" but not old age. Isa 65:20

III. Former times were not necessarily enlightened.

A. Aristotle and Grimm.

1) The older, the nastier. Often witches in disguise.

B. Meaning of life to Christians - glorify God, love, pray.

C. If paths to heaven and hell diverge visibly on earth, they begin

to split in the nursing home. There is a vast difference

between those who have lived the lie, and now have nothing

left but their memories, and those who can see themselves

still growing into love.

D. Old age is about stripping away the lies in order to teach us

the truth.

1) Old age teaches that life is not doing things, even great

things for God.

2) The lie says life is a bell-curve - up, then inevitably down.

Scripture teaches that life is meant to be up, all the way to

heaven. There is a goal, and the goal determines the process

we must go through to get there. Whatever is valued in

heaven grows more and more valuable on earth. Whatever

matters not in heaven, matters less and less on earth. The

longer you live, the more it is so.

3) One older person said, "They say we are going downhill, but

they have it wrong. It is uphill. That's why it is such

hard work!"

CT, "Role Changes," Fran White, 2/5/82, p. 34.

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I. Unique options of retirees.

II. Challenge of adjustment.

III. Challenge of role modification.

IV. Challenge of increased dependency, and loneliness.

V. Challenge of a life inventory.

#275

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God Alone Is Great

Job 14:7

Hard reality of death. Funeral sermon for Louis XIV of France, the "Sun-King." Most famous preacher of the day, Masillon, looked down at the dead king's coffin and then at the thousands gathered in Notre Dame. "God alone is great, my brothers." Death reduces all of us to our proper size.

Death is unwelcome because it leaves things unfinished. Dylan Thomas to his dying father: "Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light." [see #19253]

Death is an embarrassment in the twentieth century. Humanist authors avoid the topic. Bertrand Russell - "I believe that when I die I rot." (p 163).

What Would You Do Differently?

Mark 8:36

A sociological study interviewed fifty people over the age of 95 on one question: "If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?"

Three answers dominated:

1. If I had it to do over again, I would reflect more.

2. If I had it to do over again, I would risk more.

3. If I had it to do over again, I would do more things that would live on

after I am dead.

Do Not Cast Me Off In the Time of Old Age: the Challenge of the Aged, Part 2

Ruth 4:15

In the January 2006 edition of COMMENTARY, bioethicists Eric Cohen and Leon R. Kass offer a compelling essay on the challenge represented by millions of the aged among us. In “Cast Me Not Off in Old Age,” they warn that we are now witnessing the development of a “mass geriatric society” which will present this country with massive economic, social, medical, political, and ethical challenges.

Recognizing that, many Americans argue that there must be some better way to confront these challenges, and all too many appear willing to redefine human dignity in terms of quality of life, autonomous choice, and the competing interests of generations.

Indeed, some are ready to argue for a “duty to die” that assumes a responsibility for the elderly to get out of the way. Far more are ready to assume that the death of the elderly is at least preferable to long-term debility and decline. Both of these assumptions run into direct conflict with the Christian worldview and the Bible's teachings regarding reverence for life and respect for the aged. Confronting these assumptions will require Christian courage as well as keen Christian thinking. This challenge will not wait.

In light of these challenges, Cohen and Kass suggest two false “solutions” that may appeal today to Americans who take opposing sides on these issues.

First, the authors dismiss the argument that the problems of old age can simply be solved by medical technology. They cite Dr. Mark B. McClellan, the top official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who claimed last July that “Medicare can do so much more than give you dignity in old age.” Dr. McClellan claimed that Medicare can actually extend life, improve health, and save money by preventing and curing the diseases of old age.

Cohen and Kass dismiss this as “the medical gospel of healthy aging.” While accepting that persons can do much to make themselves healthier and to extend active and vigorous life, Cohen and Kass understand that life itself, even with medical treatments, involves limitations. It is foolish, they suggest, “to act and speak as if medical progress (whether in prevention or in cure) will liberate us from the realities of decline, debility, and death or from the unavoidable duties of caregiving at the end of life.” The authors insist that the paradox in modern aging is this: WE ARE VIGOROUS LONGER AND WE ARE INCAPACITATED LONGER.

Most tellingly, Cohen and Kass criticize much of the propaganda about old age now commonly advertised in our society. “Finally,” they note, “there is something weird about treating old age as a time of life when things should always be 'getting better.’ While aging affords some people new possibilities for learning and 'growth,' it also means -- eventually and inevitably -- the loss of one's vital powers. Some people may ride horses or climb mountains into their seventies and eighties, just like in the commercials for anti-arthritis medication, but such idealized images offer a partial and misleading picture of the realities of senescence, that series of small dyings on the way to death.”

The second “solution” Cohen and Kass rightly dismiss is the “legal gospel of the living will.” Returning to the case of Terri Schiavo, Cohen and Kass lament the fact that the significance of this tragedy for so many Americans was, as so many in the media insisted, the moral lesson that one should always have a written living will or “advance directive” to guide medical decisions once one is no longer in a capacity to speak for oneself.

With keen insight, Cohen and Kass point to the worldview of individual autonomy as the driving force behind the development of living wills and the current confidence in these documents as the “solution” to difficult issues at the end of life.

In the first place, Cohen and Kass recognize that living wills simply do not live up to their reputation. The documents are often legally unsustainable, and medical personnel are often unaware of such documents or unable to make decisions that are in any sense clearly based upon the desires of the patient who framed the document. They cite a study that indicated that decisions made by surrogates using living wills “were no more likely to reflect the patient's prior wishes than decisions made by family members judging on their own.”

Most important, Cohen and Kass understand that the inevitable bottom-line issue is the dignity of human life. While our society holds a general consensus concerning equal human worth when it comes to the healthy, Cohen and Kass argue that “this general agreement regarding equal human worth can disappear in some cases.” Specifically, “Although many continue to believe that every human life, regardless of debility, possesses equal dignity, others now argue openly that equal treatment for all is best advanced by not diverting precious resources to the severely disabled. Still others believe that the indignities of old age -- especially dementia -- belie all sanctimonious talk of 'equal worth.'“

In the end, Cohen and Kass argue for Americans to understand that there are better and worse ways to understand the challenge of aging. The worldview of personal autonomy corrupts the question by placing moral confidence in the real or perceived intentions of the patient, generally without regard to the larger moral context or to enduring moral principles.

As they argue, “The better way begins in thinking of ourselves less as wholly autonomous individuals than as members of families; in relinquishing our mistaken belief that medicine can miraculously liberate our loved ones or ourselves from debility and decline, and instead taking up our role as caregivers; and in abjuring the fantasy that we can control the manner and the hour of our dying, learning instead to accept death in its proper season as mortal beings are replaced and renewed by the generations that followed.”

This is a statement of moral insight that is deeply based in a biblical worldview and in an understanding of human dignity that is rooted in something larger than individual autonomy. The Christian worldview adds the absolute affirmation of human dignity at all stages of life, and in all conditions of life, whether young or old. Furthermore, the Christian worldview insists upon the respect due the aged as honored members of the family and of the larger society.

Without doubt, the rise of the “mass geriatric society” described by Cohen and Kass will present all Americans with a dramatic series of challenges. The church faces an even greater challenge -- to develop a theology of aging that is deeply rooted in the riches of Scripture and is directly relevant to the real-life challenges of growing old. Inevitably, a genuinely Christian vision of aging and the aged will represent a counter-thrust against the spirit of the age.

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This is part two of a two-part series.

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

The Riddle of Aging

[For hard copy, see #903.]

Anxieties of growing old. It often involves suffering but hope can result.

Fundamental realities of human existence:

1. Our essential loneliness as humans - we need love and companionship.

2. Our freedom to choose.

3. Our limit as creatures.

4. Our anxiety of awareness.

Grow Old Along With Me

Job 15:9

The poem "Rabbi ben Ezra" written in 1864:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made;

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid!"

...

Youth ended, I shall try

My gain or loss thereby;

Leave the fire ashes, what survives is gold;

And I shall weigh the same,

Give life its praise or blame:

Young, all lay in dispute; I shall know, being old.

The Search For the Fountain of Youth

Article on the physical effects of aging. Some scientists believe our bodies have built-in mechanisms to self-destruct, while others think they are reversible. Diminishing physical capabilities by age are given. Effects of diet and exercise are discussed.

The Faith of Barzillai

2 Samuel 17

Sermon on old age:

"THE FAITH OF BARZILLAI" 2 Samuel 17, 19

I. What can we do for God when we are old?

II. How Barzillai served God.

A. King David had problems in his family.

B. Absalom was the first to rebel.

C. Barzillai met David and provided for him.

III. Barzillai knew his place with God.

A. When the tide turned in David's favor, Barzillai met him as

B. Barzillai, 80 years old, declined due to age. 19:35

C. Where Barzillai wanted to be. 19:37

IV. Where is our place in God's world?

A. Like Barzillai, we may be feeling the ravages of age.

B. But like him, we can also help others who are lost on their way.

C. Rooted in Jesus Christ, we can be content where we are.

Ambitions

Ben Patterson writes in “The Grand Essentials”:

“I have a theory about old age... I believe that when life has whittled us down, when joints have failed and skin has wrinkled and capillaries have clogged and hardened, what is left of us will be what we were all along, in our essence.

“Exhibit A is a distant uncle... All his life he did nothing but find new ways to get rich... He spent his senescence very comfortably, drooling and babbling constantly about the money he had made... When life whittled him down to his essence, all there was left was raw greed. That is what he had cultivated in a thousand little ways over a lifetime.

“Exhibit B is my wife’s grandmother... When she died in her mid eighties, she had already been senile for several years. What did this lady talk about? The best example I can think of was when we asked her to pray before dinner. She would reach out and hold the hands of those sitting beside her, a broad, beatific smile would spread across her face, her dim eyes would fill with tears as she looked up to heaven, and her chin would quaver as she poured out her love to Jesus. That was Edna in a nutshell. She loved Jesus and she loved people. She couldn’t remember our names, but she couldn’t keep her hands from patting us lovingly whenever we got near her.

“When life whittled her down to her essence, all there was left was love: Love for God and love for people.”

"What About the Old Folks?"

Job 32:4

Sermon in Family Series, (also Advent), on aging and the elderly.

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WHAT ABOUT THE OLD FOLKS?

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I. Is Christmas only for the young?

II. We have very limited expectations about old age.

A. We don't look forward to getting old.

B. Even churches express this mindset.

C. Instances occur in OT as well. 1 Kg 12:6-14; Job 32:4-10; Ps 71:9

III. Bible usually presents old age in a bright light.

A. Bible is full of old people, with usual infirmities.

1) David can't get warm in own bed.

2) Isaac unable to tell his sons apart by sight or touch.

B. Old age is treated as a blessing. Gen 25:8; Lev 19:32; 1 Pet 5:5

IV. Rather than diminishing us, age can bring us to deeper spirituality.

A. Old age teaches that life is not doing things.

B. Old age is about stripping away the lies to reveal truth.

V. Age gives us opportunities for service.

A. Serving the elderly.

B. The elderly can serve.

1) They have time...experience...knowledge.

2) Why aren't the opportunities forthcoming?

3) Fruit can still come forth in old age. Psalm 92:14-15

#2382

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I'll Be 70 No Matter What

A man retires and tells his friend he wants to go back to college and get his degree. Friend says, "Why would you want to do that? You'll be 70 years old when you graduate!" Man replies, "I never thought of that - but I'll be 70 no matter what."

#2544

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May God Have Mercy On Your Old Man's Soul

General Douglas MacArthur was right when he said:

“Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind. A result of the will. A quality of the imagination. A victory of courage over timidity. A taste of adventure over the love of comfort. A man doesn’t grow old because he’s lived a certain number of years, he grows old because he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skins, but deserting his ideals wrinkles his soul. Preoccupation, fears, doubts, and despair are dust before death. You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, great and receptive to the messages of other men and women and nature and of God. If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic, and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man’s soul.”

The Four Stages of Life

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

STAGE 1: You Think There Is A Santa Claus.

STAGE 2: You Find Out There Is No Santa Claus.

STAGE 3: You Think You Are Santa Claus.

STAGE 4: You Begin To Resemble Santa Claus.

The Best Is Yet To Be

Job 15:9

An interview with Miriam Armerding, the wife of a long-time Wheaton College

president, on what she has gained and lost with advancing years.

I. Are you really committed to the Lord?

A. Fear of debilitating illness.

1) Dealing with the fear.

B. Physical limitations.

1) Failing eyes. Everything you read becomes precious.

2) Arthritis.

II. Important values.

A. Integrity.

B. Honorableness of work.

C. Compassion.

III. Confirmation that God's promises are true.

#3786

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Outliving Your Family

Psalms 71:18

Sermon in Family series. Old age. 2 Sam 19:31-39

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OUTLIVING YOUR FAMILY

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I. We aren't getting any younger.

II. Older is not always better.

A. Health.

B. Independence and finances.

C. Loneliness.

D. Loss of faith.

III. The best is yet to be.

A. Prosperity. 2 Sam 19:32

B. Hard-won wisdom. 2 Sam 19:37

C. Spiritual maturity. Psalm 71:18

D. Love and time.

IV. Make room for the elderly.

A. Do not forget the old.

B. Broaden your family.

V. We are never too old to grow.

A. Make new relationships as old ones fade, pass on.

B. Do something new. Psalm 92:14-15

C. Grow in the faith.

D. Endings mean more than beginnings.

#3792

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The Silver Cord

Final sermon in Ecclesiastes series. Death and old age. Eccl 12:1-14

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THE SILVER CORD

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I. How long do you want to live?

II. What it is like to grow old.

A. An experiment.

B. An allegory of decreptitude.

III. What we have to look forward to.

IV. Going to the eternal home. 11:5

A. Grave in view, not heavenly mansion here.

B. The dust of death. 11:7

C. Death should filter our passions. 11:6

D. It's all meaningless - apart from faith.

V. The conclusion of the matter. 12:13-14

A. To obey God is to be truly human.

B. The secret is not in morality or knowledge but in trust in God.

#4041

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The Old-Age Heresy

Ruth 4:15

The contrast between how we think and how the Bible presents aging is like emerging from a tunnel into sunlight. We don't like to talk about it, because Americans view life like a Bell curve - you go up, up, up to the age of 50 and then you go down, down, down till you die. This views claims, "Life is accomplishing things. Life is looking good and feeling good."

The Bible, however, treats old age as a blessing (except for Ecclesiastes 12, perhaps). Old age is not a problem and to die "full of years" is the fondest wish. Zechariah's dream has Jerusalem filled with the elderly. Other ancient societies were not as optimistic. The meaning of life is to glorify God, to love and to pray, and the elderly can do this as well as anyone.

God doesn't make mistakes. He intends people to grow old, if only so that they can learn what life is, and what life is not. Old ages teaches that life is not doing things, even great things for God. Life is not activity and good looks. Life is not a Bell curve, but a continuous climb toward heaven. One old person put it, "They say we are going downhill, but they have it wrong. It is uphill. That's why it is such hard work!"

A Senior Citizen's Lament

Mark 5:26

A SENIOR CITIZEN'S LAMENT

Thought I'd let my doctor check me

'Cause I didn't feel quite right.

All those aches and pains annoyed me,

And I couldn't sleep at night.

He could find no real disorder,

but he wouldn't let it rest.

What with Medicare and Blue Cross

it wouldn't hurt to do some tests.

To the hospital he sent me

though I didn't feel that bad.

He arranged for them to give me

every test that could be had.

I was fluoroscoped and cystoscoped,

my aging frame displayed,

Stripped upon an ice-cold table

while my gizzards were X-rayed.

I was checked for worms and parasites,

for fungus and the crud,

While they pierced me with long needles

taking samples of my blood.

Doctors came to check me over,

probed and pushed and poked around,

And to make sure I was living,

they wired me for sound.

They have finally concluded

(their results have filled a page)

What I have will someday kill me:

my affliction is OLD AGE.

#4265

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Sermon: Full Court Press

Job 15:9

The oldest human we know of that can be verified is [was] Jean Calmet. She made a great quote the last time she had a birthday; she was asked to describe her vision for the future. She said two words: VERY BRIEF.

Another woman was asked the benefits of living to the age of 102 and she said there is very little peer pressure at my age.

Finally, there is a pastor of the Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, Wisconsin, whose name is John Fedderman. He told of an elderly woman who, when she died she had never been married and she said she wanted no men to carry her casket, no male pallbearers. In her instructions for her Memorial service this is what she said: They didn't take me out while I was alive, they're not taking me out when I die!

What Happens When We’re Too Old To Be ‘Useful’?

Job 12:12

“I customarily killed old women. They all died, there by the big river. I didn’t used to wait until they were completely dead to bury them. The women were afraid of me.”

No wonder. That’s the account of a man from the Aché, an indigenous tribe in eastern Paraguay, as told to anthropologists Kim Hill and Magdalena Hurtado. He explained grandmothers helped with chores and babysitting but when they got too old to be useful, you couldn’t be sentimental. Brutally, the usual method was an axe to the head. For the old men, Aché custom dictated a different fate. They were sent away - and told never to return.

What obligations do we owe to our elders? It’s a question as old as humankind.

And the answers have varied widely, at least if surviving traditional societies are any guide. As another anthropologist, Jared Diamond, points out, the Aché are hardly outliers. Among the Kualong, in Papua New Guinea, when a woman’s husband died, it was her son’s solemn duty to strangle her. In the Arctic, the Chukchi encouraged old people to kill themselves with the promise of rewards in the afterlife.

But many other tribes took a very different approach: they were gerontocracies, in which the young do as the old say. Some even expected adults to pre-chew food for their aged and toothless parents.

What does seem common is the expectation that, until your body let you down completely, you’d keep working. That’s no longer true.

Many of us expect to reach a certain age, then receive a pension - money from the state or our former employers, not in return for work today but in recognition of our work in the past. Pensions for soldiers date back at least as far as ancient Rome - the word “pension” comes from the Latin for “payment”. But only in the 19th Century did they spread far beyond the military. The first universal state pension came in Germany in 1890, thanks to the efforts of the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck told the German parliament in 1881 those who could not work because of age or ill health had a “well-grounded claim to care from the state.”

But the right to support in old age is still far from global. Nearly a third of the world’s older people have no pension and for many of the rest who receive some money, the pension is not enough to live on.

In many countries, however, generations have grown up assuming they will be well looked after in old age. But it’s becoming a challenge to meet that expectation. And for years, economic-policy experts have been sounding the alarm about a slow-burn crisis in the pension system. The problem is demographic. Half a century ago, in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of rich nations, the average 65-year-old woman could expect to live about 15 more years. Today, she can expect at least 20. Meanwhile, the average family has shrunk from 2.7 children to 1.7 - the pipeline of future workers is drying up.

All that has many implications, some good and some bad. But for pensions, the situation is stark - there’ll be many more retirees to support and many fewer workers paying taxes to support them. In the 1960s, the world had nearly 12 workers for every older person. Today, it’s under eight - and by 2050, it’ll be just four. Both state and private pension systems now look expensive. Employers have been scrambling to make theirs less generous. Forty years ago, most American workers were on so-called “defined-benefit” plans, which specify what you’ll receive when you retire. Now, it’s fewer than one in 10.

The new norm, “defined-contribution” schemes, specify what your employer will pay into your pension pot rather than what income you’ll be able to get out of it. Such pensions don’t logically have to be more miserly than defined-benefit schemes - but they usually are, often vastly so. It’s easy to understand why employers are ditching defined benefits - pension promises can prove expensive to keep.

Ponder the case of John Janeway, who fought in the U.S. Civil War. His military pension included benefits for a surviving spouse when he died. When Janeway was 81, he married an 18-year-old. The army was still paying Gertrude Janeway her widow’s pension in 2003, nearly 140 years after the war ended.

Economists can see trouble ahead - a bulge of workers is approaching retirement and their workplace pensions may be worth less than they’d expected. That’s why governments around the world are trying to persuade individuals to save more themselves towards their old age.

But it’s not easy to persuade people to focus on the distant future. One survey suggests under-50s are barely half as likely as over-50s to say retirement is their top financial concern. When you’re saving for your first house or raising a young family, you may not feel a pressing need to provide for the old person you’ll one day become. Indeed, you may find it hard to conceive of that future old person as you.

Behavioural economists have come up with some clever solutions, such as automatically enrolling people in workplace pension schemes and scheduling more saving from future pay rises. These “nudges” work pretty well - we could opt out but instead we tend to save through sheer inertia. But they don’t solve the fundamental demographic problem. No amount of saving changes the fact we’ll always need current workers to generate the wealth to support current pensioners - whether that’s through paying taxes, renting properties owned by retirees, or working for companies in which pension funds are the major shareholders.

Some think we’ll need a more radical shift in our attitudes to old age. There’s talk of retirement itself being “retired”. Perhaps, like our ancestors, we’ll be expected to work for as long as we’re able. But the varied customs of ancestral societies should give us pause, because they appear to have evolved in response to some discomfortingly hard-nosed trade-offs.

Whether elders could expect lovingly pre-chewed food or an axe by the big river seems to have depended on whether the benefits they offered the tribe outweighed the costs of supporting them. In tribes such as the Aché, those costs were higher - because they moved around a lot or food was frequently scarce. Today’s societies are rich and sedentary by comparison - we can afford the rising cost of pensions, if we choose. But there are other differences, too. Once we relied on elders to store knowledge and instruct the young. Now, knowledge dates quickly - and who needs Grandma when we have schools and Wikipedia?

We might hope we’re long past the days when levels of respect for old people unconsciously tracked some balance of costs and benefits. Still, if we believe a dignified old age is a right, perhaps we should be saying that, as clearly and as often as possible.

Just One Wish

Fox River gave life to the country town of Colby Point, for the road and the river ran alongside one another. Colby Point was really the name of a road that crept between the hills and valleys of McHenry, Illinois. Homes were scattered here and there -- mostly summer homes and retirement homes. At the very end of the road three houses all faced one another. Three sisters -- all single, all seniors -- lived in one of the homes. Across the way their widowed first cousin lived in a yellow house. Next to her lived their brother, Bill, and his wife, Cleo.

Cleo had multiple sclerosis, so the pair had moved to Colby Point seeking a quiet, relaxed life. Little did they know when they relocated to this serene area that they would end up rearing their granddaughter, Margie. Before long, the once-quiet neighborhood became active with the sounds of a child.

Margie always looked forward to the arrival of Christmas, and this year was no different as winter began to settle like a warm blanket around Colby Point. Everyone was in a flurry, for at the church Margie and her family attended, the congregation was preparing to share their Christmas wishes with each other. Since Cleo couldn't make it to church, and Bill didn't like to leave her alone for too long, he was in the habit of dropping Margie off at church early on Sunday mornings; the aunts would bring her home.

As Margie sat in church that morning, she rehearsed in her mind over and over what she would say. She wasn't afraid, for she knew what an important wish this was. The service seemed to drag on and on. Finally the pastor uttered the words Margie had been anticipating all morning, "This is a special time of year when everyone around the world celebrates peace and goodwill toward our fellow man. This year, here at St. John's, we want to hear your Christmas wishes. We cannot fill everyone's wish, but we would like to try and fill a few. As I call your name, please come forward and tell us about your Christmas wish."

One after another, the church members shared their wishes, large and small. Margie was the last and the youngest to speak. As she looked out at the congregation, she spoke confidently, "I would like for my grandma to have church. She cannot walk, and she and my grandpa have to stay at home. They miss coming so much. So that is what I wish for. And please don't tell them, for it needs to be a surprise."

Riding home with her aunts, Margie could tell they were speaking in low tones about her wish. She hoped that they would keep her secret. As the next Sunday came around, Margie was getting ready for church when Grandma asked, "Why are you so fidgety? You haven't sat still all morning."

"I just know that something wonderful is going to happen today!"

"Of course it will," said her grandma with a chuckle. "It's almost Christmas, you know."

Grandpa was getting on his coat when he happened to look out the front window. He saw some cars coming down the dirt road one after another. Now at this time of year there wasn't too much traffic, so this was really amazing. Margie pushed her grandma to the window so that she could see all the cars. Pretty soon the cars were parked all up and down the road as far as a person could see.

Grandpa looked at Grandma, and they both looked at Margie. Grandpa asked, "Just what did you wish for, Margie?"

"I wished that you and Grandma could have church. And I just knew that it would come true. Look! There's the pastor, and everyone from church is coming up the walk."

The congregation arrived with coffee and cookies and cups and gifts. They sang Christmas carols and listened to the pastor speak on giving to others the gifts that God gives. Later that night, Margie slipped out the back door and walked outside to look up at the stars. "Thank you," she whispered, "thank you for giving me my wish."

That was just one of the many wishes granted for Margie as she grew up. Her childhood overflowed with the love of her grandparents, four great aunts and many wise, caring neighbors. Margie was truly a blessed little girl.

I should know -- I was that little girl.

________________________

*

Quotes On Old Age

Ruth 4:15

"Esteem age and you will always have life to look forward to. Esteem youth and you proclaim your own obsolescence."

-- unknown; from Chattanooga Resource Foundation

"As I give thought to the matter, I find four causes for the apparent misery of old age; first, it withdraws us from active accomplishments; second, it renders the body less powerful; third, it deprives us of almost all forms of enjoyment; fourth, it stands not far from death."

-- Cicero

"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative."

-- Maurice Chevalier

"A man is not old as long as he is seeking something."

-- Jean Rostand

"Age ... is a matter of feeling, not of years."

-- George William Curtis

"Age--that period of life in which we compound for the vices that we still cherish by reviling those that we no longer have the enterprise to commit."

-- Ambrose Bierce

"To hold the same views at forty as we held at twenty is to have been stupefied for a score of years, and take rank, not as a prophet, but as an unteachable brat, well birched and none the wiser."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

"The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom."

-- H. L. Mencken

"Only the young die good."

-- Cynic's Calendar

"The woman who tells her age is either too young to have anything to lose or too old to have anything to gain."

-- Chinese Proverb

"At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment."

-- Benjamin Franklin

"Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so."

-- Tryon Edwards

"If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old."

-- James A. Garfield

"As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish."

-- François de la Rochefoucauld

"I refuse to admit I'm more than fifty-two, even if that does make my sons illegitimate."

-- Lady Astor

"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form."

-- André Maurois

"In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways."

-- Edith Wharton

"A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams."

-- John Barrymore (1882 - 1942), actor, cited in BITS & PIECES

"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes."

-- Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959), architect, cited in BITS & PIECES

"The goal in life is to die young - as late as possible."

-- Ashley Montagu (1905 - 1999), anthropologist, cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES

No Such Thing As Retirement

Psalms 92

It's got to be one of the most memorable, most identifiable advertising campaigns in recent history. And it's hard to do that when what you're selling is something as relatively boring as batteries. But Energizer did it. You can probably imagine their rabbit right now - he's got sunglasses on, drumsticks in his hand, a big bass drum in front of him. And he moves across the landscape, seemingly unstoppable, beating his drum all the way -because he's powered by Energizer batteries, of course.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing As Retirement."

Ah, yes - the Energizer bunny. He keeps "going and going and going." So do faithful followers of Jesus Christ - no matter how long they've been going. God says so in our word for today from the Word of God.

According to Psalm 92, beginning with verse 12, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. (Listen to this.) They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; He is my Rock..." I love this. People in the later years of their lives, not just playing shuffleboard or watching TV, but still making a difference. Still praising their faithful Lord every chance they get. Still talking about the "Rock" who has sustained them through every battle of their life. In fact, speaking as only those who have walked with God a long time can speak of Him!

It is God's will that you "still bear fruit" in your "old age" - that you stay fresh and productive, not stale and on the sidelines. You can retire from a career. You can retire from a company or occupation, but you can't retire from the service of Jesus Christ! There are those who say, "Well, I've served my time ... I've done my part. Now I'll just sit here and rest until Jesus comes for me." Listen, when you love the Lord Jesus, when you've surrendered your life to His leadership, you don't look for an opportunity to quit. You say, "Man, if I live to be a hundred, I'm never going to have enough time to do for my Lord what I want to do!" God wants you to be one of His "Energizer bunnies" - going and going and going until He decides your work is finished.

Yes, your body may slow down. Your health may not be what it used to be. But you still have so much to give. He's still got lives for you to touch - wherever He's put you - don't go off duty! He's still got young people He wants you to encourage with your long view of the ways of God. He's still got battles for you to fight, other people's burdens for you to carry, situations that need your wisdom, people who need you for them to have a chance to go to heaven. How can you retire? Yes, you may retire from a ministry position, but you don't ever retire from ministry!

So many people get more self-centered the older they get. That is not God's plan for you or me. The closer we get to seeing Jesus, the less we should be thinking about ourselves and the more we should be thinking about serving Him and storing up treasures in heaven! Isn't it exciting to know that God wants to keep using your life for your whole life? Because the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, never gets old, never wears out, never goes off duty. You're going to keep "going and going and going" for Jesus until the day you see Him!

________________

*

Body Is Like A Glove

When you remove your hand from a glove, the form of the hand remains, but the substance that gave it life is gone. Our body is just a glove!

Oldest Living Things

Hikers in California’s Sierra Mountains are surprised to find 10-foot high fences with barbed wire around the top out in the middle of nowhere. What do they surround? Some vital communication equipment such as a tower? No. Just a few gnarled trees -- maybe just a twisted stump with a few pine needles. A sign reads: “DO NOT ENTER. BRISTLECONE PINE PROTECTION ZONE. PLEASE PROTECT THESE TREES. THEY ARE THE OLDEST LIVING THINGS ON EARTH.”

Pamphlets explain that these trees were flourishing when Jesus walked on the earth. They were seedlings when the Exodus from Egypt took place. However, one day even these trees will die.

17th Century Nun's Prayer

Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with -but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the Devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.

1995 statistics

Census Bureau report released in January 1995 states that the nation's population of 261 million is expected to swell to 392 million by 2050. Life expectancy will climb from the current 76.3 years to 82.6 by then. "It's fun to think about what will be considered normal in a society like that. All of our youth culture will probably be by the boards," said population researcher Charles F. Longino, Jr. "The first thing that strikes me is who will the matinee idols be. People today say Paul Newman looks great for his age. Maybe by then they won't use phrases like `for his age.'" The population over 85 is expected to grow particularly fast--3 million in 1993, this group is expected to triple by 2030 and reach 19 million by 2050--nearly one in 20 Americans in that year! Add in the 15.1% of the population expected to be between 65 to 84 in 2050--more than 20% of Americans will be over 65! (1 in 5).

Eat Vaseline--live longer.

Robert A. Chesebrough, the Brooklyn chemist who invented vaseline, believed he had the

answer for those who wanted to live a long life. He said the answer was to swallow one

spoonful of vaseline each day. He died at the age of 96 in 1933 . . . probably choked.

How To Stay Healthy Though Aged

“The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people and greatly assists in the circulation of the blood.”

-- Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946)

Katherine Hepburn On Old Age

Ruth 4:15

Katherine Hepburn on old age:

"I think we're finally at a point where we've learned to see death with a sense of humor. I have to. When you're my age, it's as if you're a car -- first a tire blows and you get that fixed and a headlight goes and you get that fixed. Then one day you drive into the shop and the man says, 'Sorry, Miss, we can't get parts for this model anymore.'"

Life-long companions

A poem by Peggy Cameron King about an old couple who have been life-long companions expresses this idea well:

Let me hold your hand as we go downhill,

We've shared our strength and we share it still.

It hasn't been easy to make the climb,

But the way was eased by your hand in mine.

Like the lake, our life has had ripples too,

Ill-health, and worries, and payments due,

With happy pauses along the way,

A birth, a graduation, a raise in pay.

At the foot of the slope, we will stop and rest,

Look back if you wish; we've been truly blessed.

We've been spared the grief of being torn apart

By death, or divorce, or a broken heart.

The view ahead is one of the best,

Just a little bit farther, and then we can rest.

We move more slowly, but together still,

Let me hold your hand as ... we go ... downhill.

Meet an old lady

MEET AN OLD LADY

You are going to meet an old lady someday. Down the road ahead, ten,

twenty, thirty years; she's waiting for you. You will be catching up

with her. What kind of old lady are you going to meet? That is a

rather significant question.

She may be a seasoned, soft, and gracious lady. A lady who has grown

old gracefully, surrounded by a host of friends--friends who call her

blessed because of what her life has meant to them.

She may be a bitter, disillusioned, dried-up, cynical old buzzard,

without a good word for anyone or anything--soured, friendless, alone.

The kind of old lady you will meet will depend entirely upon you. She

will be exactly what you make of her..nothing more, nothing less. It is

up to you. You will have no one else to credit or blame.

Every day, in every way, you are becoming more and more like that old

lady. Amazing, but true. You are getting to look more like her, think

more like her, and talk more like her. YOU ARE BECOMING HER.

If you live only in terms of what you you are getting out of life, the

old lady gets smaller, drier, harder, crabbier, more self-centered.

Open your life to others, think in terms of what you can give, your

contribution to life, and the old lady grows larger, softer, kinder,

greater.

The point to remember is that these things don't always show up

immediately. But they will--sooner than you think. These little

things, seemingly so unimportant now--ATTITUDES, GOALS, AMBITIONS,

DESIRES--are adding up inside, where you cannot see them, crystallizing

in your heart and mind. Some day they will harden into that old lady;

nothing will be able to soften or change them then.

Time to take care of that old lady is right now, today. Examine your

motives, attitudes, goals. Check up on her. Work her over now while

she is till pliable, still in a formative condition. Day comes swiftly

soon when it is too late. The hardness sets in, worse than paralysis.

Character crystallizes, sets, gels. That's the finish.

Any wise business person takes an inventory regularly. Merchandise is

not half as important as the person. You had better take a bit of a

personal inventory, too. Then you will be much more likely to meet a

lovely, gracious old lady at the proper time. Author unknown

No kids ... yet!

A woman in a convalescent home was given a party to celebrate her one hundredth birthday. Her pastor came to offer his congratulations. Later, the pastor said, "Her mind was keenly alert. When I arrived, she was completely caught up in the excitement of the birthday party. A reporter had come to interview her. And when he asked that high-spirited, one-hundred-year-old woman, 'Do you have any children?' she replied, without hesitation, 'Not yet!'"

Sunday Sermons, Volume 15, Number 6 Nov/Dec 1985, (Voicings), page 44.

An Old Man's Optimism

During an Old-Timers Game, a reporter went up to Ty Cobb and said, "You were a lifetime .367 hitter. What do you think you would hit if you were playing these days?" Cobb answered, "About .290, maybe .300."

"That's because of all the new pitches, like the slider, right?" said the reporter.

"Nope," explained Cobb. "It's because I'm seventy."

Really seeing an old person

Copied from Focus On The Family magazine, Sep. 1985.

What do you see, nurse, what do you see?

Are you thinking when you look at me--

A crabbed old woman, not very wise,

Uncertain of habit with far away eyes,

Who dribbles her food and makes no reply

When you say in a loud voice--"I do wish you'd try."

Who seems not to notice the things that you do

And forever is losing a stocking or shoe,

Who resisting or not, lets you do as you will

With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.

Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?

Then open your eyes, nurse. You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still.

As I move at your bidding, eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,

Brothers and sisters who love one another;

A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet.

Dreaming that soon a love she'll meet;

A bride at twenty, my heart gives a leap,

Remembering the vows that I promised to keep;

At twenty-five now I have young of my own

Who need me to build a secure, happy home.

A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast,

Bound together with ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons have grown up and gone,

But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more babies play round my knee

Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead.

I look at the future, I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing young of their own,

And I think of the years and the love that I've known.

I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel,

Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body it crumbles, grace and vigor depart.

There is a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,

And now again my bittered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain

And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years, all too few, gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, nurse, open and see

Not a crabbed old woman,

Look closer--see me!

Stages of life

R.M. Cornelius identifies the "Seven Ages of Man"

6 weeks ... all systems go

6 years ... all systems "No!"

16 years ... all systems know

26 years ... all systems glow

36 years ... all systems owe

56 years ... all systems status quo

76 years ... all systems slow

Don't Bang On My Cans

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment ... then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. Used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing.”

The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trash cans. After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession's really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I'll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they did accept his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus.

A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven't received my Social Security check yet, so I'm not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?”

“A lousy quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we're going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you're nuts! No way, mister. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

Daily Bread (4/12/99)

THE BRIDGE BUILDER

Will Allen Dromgoole

An Old Man, going a lone highway,

Came at the evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim--

That sullen stream had no fears for him,

But he turned, when he reached the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength in building here,

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way.

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head.

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"There follows after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

--Burlington Beacon, Burlington, NC

The Beauty of Love

The question is asked, “Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and a girl clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?”

And the answer is given. “Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. It is Old love.”

Daily Bits (4/26/99)

TO MY CHILDREN

When I spill some food on my nice clean dress

Or maybe forget to tie my shoe,

Please be patient and perhaps reminisce

About the many hours I spent with you.

When I taught you how to eat with care,

Plus tying laces and your numbers, too,

Dressing yourself and combing your hair,

Those were precious hours spent with you.

So when I forget what I was about to say,

Just give me a minute or two,

It probably wasn't important anyway,

And I would much rather listen to you.

If I tell the story one more time,

And you know the ending through and through,

Please remember your first nursery rhyme

When I rehearsed a hundred times with you.

When my legs are tired and it's hard to stand

Or walk the steady pace I would like to do,

Please take me carefully by my hand,

And guide me now as I so often did for you

The Bremen Town Musicians

A certain man had an ass which for many years carried sacks to the mill without tiring. At last, however, its strength was worn out and it was no longer of any use for work. Accordingly its master began to ponder as to how best to cut down its keep. But the ass, seeing mischief in the air, ran away and started on the road to Bremen. There he thought he could become a town musician.

When be had been traveling a short time, he fell in with a hound, who was lying panting on the road as though he had run himself off his legs. “Well, why are you panting so, Growler?” said the ass. “Ah,” said the hound, “just because I am old, and every day I get weaker. And also, because I can no longer keep up with the pack, my master wanted to kill me, so I took my departure. But now how am I to earn my bread?”

“Do you know what?” said the ass. “I am going to Bremen and shall there become a town musician. Come with me and take your part in the music. I shall play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum.”

The hound agreed and they went on. A short time afterwards they came upon a cat sitting in the road, with a face as long as a wet week. “Well, why are you so cross, Whiskers?” the ass asked.

“Who can be cheerful when he is out at elbows?” said the cat. “I am getting on in years and my teeth are blunted, and I prefer to sit by the stove and purr instead of hunting round after mice. Just because of this my mistress wanted to drown me. I made myself scarce, but now I don’t know where to turn.”

“Come with us to Bremen,” said the ass. “You are a great hand at serenading, so you can become a town musician.” The cat consented and joined them.

Next the fugitives passed by a yard where a barnyard fowl was sitting on the door, crowing with all its might. “You crow so loud you pierce one through and through,” said the ass. “What is the matter?”

“Why, didn’t I prophesy fine weather for Lady Day, when Our Lady washes the Christ Child’s little garment and wants to dry it? But notwithstanding this, because Sunday visitors are coming tomorrow, the mistress has no pity, and she has ordered the cook to make me into soup. So I shall have my neck wrung tonight. Now I am crowing with all my might while I have the chance.”

“Come along, Red-comb,” said the ass. “You had much better come with us. We are going to Bremen and you will find a much better fate there. You have a good voice, and when we make music together there will be quality in it.”

The cock allowed himself to be persuaded and they all four went off together. They could not, however, reach the town in one day, and by evening they arrived at a wood, where they determined to spend the night. The ass and the hound lay down under a big tree. The cat and the cock settled themselves in the branches, the cock flying right up to the top, which was the safest place for him. Before going to sleep he looked round once more in every direction. Suddenly he called out to his comrades that there must be a house not far off, for be saw a light.

“Very well,” said the ass. “Let us set out and make our way to it, for the entertainment here is very bad.”

The hound thought some bones or meat would suit him too, so they set out in the direction of the light. They soon saw it shining more clearly and getting bigger and bigger, till they reached a brightly lighted robbers’ den. The ass, being the tallest, looked in the window.

“What do you see, old jackass?” asked the cock.

“What do I see?” answered the ass. “Why, a table spread with delicious food and drink, and robbers seated at it enjoying themselves.”

“That would just suit us,” said the cock.

“Yes, if we were only there,” answered the ass.

Then the animals took counsel as to how to set about driving the robbers out. At last they hit upon a plan.

The ass was to take up his position with his forefeet on the windowsill, the hound was to jump on his back, the cat to climb up onto the hound, and last of all the cock was to up and perch on the cat’s head. When they were thus arranged, at a given signal they all began to perform their music. The ass brayed, the hound barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed. Then they dashed through the window, shivering the panes.

The robbers jumped up at the terrible noise. They thought nothing less than that the devil was coming in upon them and fled into the wood in the greatest alarm. Then the four animals sat down to table and helped themselves according to taste, and they ate as though they had been starving for weeks. When they had finished, they extinguished the light and looked for sleeping places, each one to suit his nature and taste. The ass lay down on a pile of straw, the hound behind the door, the cat on the hearth near the warm ashes, and the cock flew up to the rafters. As they were tired from the long journey, they soon went to sleep.

When midnight was past, and the robbers saw from a distance that the light was no longer burning and that all seemed quiet, the thief said, “We ought not to have been scared by a false alarm.” And he ordered one of the robbers to go and examine the house. Finding all quiet, the messenger went into the kitchen to kindle a light. And taking the cat’s glowing, fiery eyes for live coals, he held a match close to them so as to light it. But the cat would stand no nonsense - it flew at his face, spat, and scratched. He was terribly frightened and ran away.

He tried to get out the back door, but the hound, who was lying there, jumped up and bit his leg. As he ran across the pile of straw in front of the house, the ass gave him a good sound kick with his hind legs; while the cock, who had awakened at the uproar quite fresh and gay, cried out from his perch, “Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

Thereupon the robber ran back as fast as he could to his chief and said, “There is a gruesome witch in the house who breathed on me and scratched me with her long fingers. Behind the door there stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me, while in the yard lies a black monster who hit me with a club. And upon the roof the judge is seated, and he called out, ‘Bring the rogue here!’ So I hurried away as fast as I could.”

Thenceforward the robbers did not venture again to the house, which pleased the four Bremen musicians so much that they never wished to leave it again.

Your Skin As A Modern Corporation

“...and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called “cells”! And what is even more interesting, the ones on the outside are all dying! This is a fact. Your skin is like an aggressive modern corporation, where the older veteran cells, who have finally worked their way to the top and obtained offices with nice views, are constantly being shoved out the window head first, without so much as a pension plan, by younger hotshot cells moving up from below.”

-- Dave Barry

(untitled)

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."

Said the little old man, "I do that too."

The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."

"I do that too," laughed the old man.

Said the little boy, "I often cry."

The old man nodded. "So do I."

"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems

Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."

And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.

"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

By Shel Silverstein

Who Wants To Live To Be 100?

Ruth 4:15

Someone (unknown to me) relates this story:

When my grandmother was in her eighties, she decided to move to Israel. As part of the preparations, she went to see her doctor and get all her charts. The doctor asked her how she was doing, so she gave him the litany of complaints -- this hurts, that’s stiff, I’m tireder and slower, etc., etc., etc.

He responded with, “Mrs. Weiss, you have to expect things to start deteriorating. After all, who wants to live to 100?”

My grandmother looked him straight in the eye and replied, “Anyone who’s 99.”

It’s so true. No matter how old we are, there is the desire to live at least one more year. Even Christians who look forward to being with their heavenly Father sometimes have a hard time letting go of life in this world. But Jesus’ death (and resurrection) truly makes all the difference in the world.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil -- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Heb. 2:14-15, NIV)

Satan holds the “power of death”, but praise be to the One who gives us hope because He holds the “power of life”!

Life In A Nursing Home, From the Inside

My World Now

Life in a nursing home, from the inside

By Anna Mae Halgrim Seaver

This is my world now. It's all I have left. You see, I am old. And, I'm not as healthy as I used to be. I'm not necessarily happy with it but I accept it.

Occasionally, a member of my family will stop in to see me. He or she will bring some flowers or a little present, maybe a set of slippers -- I've got 8 pair. We'll visit for awhile and then they will return to the outside world and I'll be alone again.

Oh, there are other people here in the nursing home. Residents, we're called. The majority are about my age. I'm 84. Many are in wheelchairs. The lucky ones are passing through -- a broken hip, a diseased heart, something has brought them here for rehabilitation. When they're well, they'll be going home.

Most of us are aware of our plight -- some are not. Varying stages of Alzheimer's have robbed several of their mental capacities. We listen to endlessly repeated stories an questions. We meet them anew daily, hourly or more often. We smile and nod gracefully each time we hear a retelling. They seldom listen to my stories, so I've stopped trying.

The help here is basically pretty good, although there's a large turnover. Just when I get comfortable with someone he or she moves on to another job. I understand that. This is not the best job to have.

I don't much like some of the physical things that happen to us. I don't care much for a diaper. I seem to have lost the control acquired so diligently as a child. The difference is that I'm aware and embarrassed but I can't do anything about it. I've had 3 children and I know it isn't pleasant to clean another's diaper. My husband used to wear a gas mask when he changed the kids. I wish I had one now.

Why do you think the staff insists on talking baby talk when speaking to me? I understand English. I have a degree in music and am a certified teacher. Now I hear a lot of words that end in “y”. Is this how my kids felt? My hearing aid works fine. There is little need for anyone to position their face directly in front of mine and raise their voice with those “y” words. Sometimes it takes longer for a meaning to sink in; sometimes my mind wanders when I am bored. But there is no need to shout.

I tried once or twice to make my feelings known. I even shouted once. That gained me a reputation of being “crotchety”. Imagine me, crotchety. My children never heard me raise my voice. I surprised myself. After I've asked for help more than a dozen times and received nothing more than a dozen condescending smiles and a “yes deary, I'm working on it,” something begins to break. That time I wanted to be taken to the bathroom.

I'd love to go out for a meal, to travel again. I'd love to go to my own church, sing with my own choir. I'd love to visit my friends. Most of them are gone now or else they are in different “homes” of their children's choosing. I'd love to play a good game of bridge but no one here seems to concentrate well.

My children put me here for my own good. They said they would be able to visit me frequently, But they have their own lives to lead. That sounds normal. I don't want to be a burden. They know that. But, I would like to see them more. One of them lives here in town. He visits as much as he can.

Something else I've learned to accept is loss of privacy. Quite often, I'll close my door when my roommate -- imagine having a roommate at my age -- is in the TV room. I do appreciate some time to myself and believe that I have earned at least that courtesy. As I sit thinking or writing, one of the aides invariably opens the door unannounced and walks in as if I'm not there.

Sometimes she even opens my drawers and begins rummaging around. Am I invisible? Have I lost my right to respect and dignity? What would happen if the roles were reversed? I am still a human being. I would like to be treated as one.

Did you ever sit in a wheelchair over an extended period of time? It's not comfortable. The seat squeezes you into the middle and applies constant pressure on your hips. The armrests are too narrow and my arms slip off. I am luckier than some. Others are strapped into their chairs and abandoned in front of the TV. Captive prisoners of daytime television; soap operas, talk shows and commercials.

One of the residents died today. He was a loner who, at one time, started a business and developed a multimillion-dollar company. His children moved him here when he could no longer control his bowels. He didn't talk to most of us. He often snapped at the aides as if they were his employees. But he just gave up; willed his own demise. The staff has made up his room and another man has moved in.

A typical day. Awakened by the woman in the next bed wheezing -- a former chain smoker with asthma. Call an aide to wash me and place me in my wheelchair to wait for breakfast. Only 67 minutes until breakfast. I'll wait. Breakfast in the dining room. Most of the residents are in wheelchairs. Others use canes or walkers. Some sit and wonder what they are waiting for.

First meal of the day. Only 3 hours and 28 minutes until lunch. Maybe I'll sit around and wait for it. What is today? One day blends into the next until day and date mean nothing.

Let's watch a little TV. Oprah and Phil and Geraldo and who cares if some transvestite is having trouble picking a color coordinated wardrobe from his husband's girlfriend's mother's collection.

Lunch. Can't wait. Dried something with pureed peas and coconut pudding. No wonder I'm losing weight.

Back to my semiprivate room for a little semiprivacy or a nap. I do need my beauty rest, company may come today. What is today, again? The afternoon drags into early evening. This used to be my favorite time of the day. Things would wind down. I would kick off my shoes. Put my feet up on the coffee table. Pop open a bottle of Chablis and enjoy the fruits of my day's labor with my husband. He's gone. So is my health. This is my world.

________

Anna Mae Halgrim Seaver, who lived in Wauwatosa, Wis. died in March. Her son found these notes in her room after her death. Article from Newsweek magazine. June 27, 1994.

Quote

"Childhood sometimes does pay a second visit to man; youth

never."

- Anna Jameson

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 57.

Quote

"The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy

without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without

the capacity."

- Mark Twain

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 118.

(untitled)

Sometimes when I feel like I'm getting older I'm reminded of the

little boy who was talking to his grandfather. The little boy said,

"Grandpa, I heard you say that all the people who were alive when the

flood came we killed except for Noah and his family because of their

sin. Is that right?" And the grandfather said, "That's right son."

The little boy replied, "Well, if that's true then how did you and

grandma make it through?"

Crick's Brave New World

Job 3:20

Sir Francis Crick, decoder of DNA, in a lecture entitled “The Sociological Ramifications of Biology” before University College:

“Because of the population explosion in the face of diminishing resources, we have no recourse from the following steps:

A. We cannot continue to regard all human life as sacred. The idea that every person has a soul and that his life must be saved at all costs should not be allowed. Instead, the status of birth and death should be reconsidered.

B. If, for example, a child were considered to be legally born when two days old, it could be examined to see whether it was an 'acceptable member of human society'.

C. It might also be desirable to define a person as legally dead when he is past the age of 80 or 85, and then expensive medical equipment should be forbidden to him; old people might also be required to distribute a certain proportion of their property.

D. It is not right that religious instruction should be given to young children. Instead they should be taught the modern scientific view of man's place in the universe, in the world and in society, and the nature of scientific truth.

____________

from Nature 220, Nov.1968, pp 429-430

(untitled)

Moses was eighty years of age when God called him to the leadership of Israel, and although Moses pleaded for exemption on the basis of his vocal defects, and other deficiencies, he didn't ask it on account of his age. It might interest some to know that octogenarians have made some marvelous contributions to art, science, literature, and religion. Cato, at eighty, began the study of Greek; Tennyson, at eighty, wrote “Crossing the Bar;” George Bernard Shaw has written some of his most famous plays while in his eighties; Scott, the commentator, began the study of Hebrew at eighty-seven; Verdi wrote “Ave Maria” at eighty-five; many judges of the Supreme Court have been nearer eighty than seventy; Goethe wrote {Faust} when past eighty; Simonides won a prize for poetry when past eighty; Dr. Howard A. Kelly continued to be a world-famous cancer specialist when past eighty. And these are but a few of a mighty host of men and women for whom God found use in their old age.

- Paul E. Holdcraft, {Cyclopedia of Bible Illustrations,}(New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press) 11

108 Sermon Illustrations on Old Age