Today has been a regular old timer’s day. I’m finally committing to being in my dotage. Guess I should take Shady Oaks seriously and start saving cash for strip poker nights. Looked for my glasses forever this morning and they were right in front of my face on my desk, lying beside my iPad. Usually I’m wearing them while looking for them, seriously. Got too hot sitting in the swing, sweating, determined to last till mid-afternoon but didn’t make it. Came in at 92 degrees and I thought it must be almost 100 degrees ‘cause I sweated out my shirt taking Penelope for a walk. Youngest son asked me at supper tonight, “How come you can remember a hurricane in the 1990’s but you can’t remember what you ate for breakfast?” That’s a great question and I don’t know the answer. It’s amazing that I can drive to Wally World for a grocery pick up by myself.

Research show that happiness increases with age while stress and anxiety lessen with age. We can act like fools when we’re old and no one cares, heck, we don’t even care, either. Well, our children might care when they are with us and an old age moment kicks in. Oldest son and youngest son have repeatedly told me I talk too loud and ask too many questions. I always thought you asked questions when you needed to know something. I’ve learned to ask the grandchildren for pertinent information so I don’t disturb their father with my need for information.

I usually look for my lost cell phone, even while talking on it, for a good while before I yell upstairs and ask my youngest son to call my phone. Someone should invent a cell phone necklace, similar to the chain necklace on reading glasses. Course I’d lean over and fry my phone cooking french fries or something. Got one pair of blue jean shorts that hold my phone hostage in the pockets and when I work trying to fish it out it, the phone calls someone and I hear a hundred “hellos” before I can get to the phone, so embarrassing when that happens. Is that a butt dial…asking ‘cause I don’t know.

I love what Ann Landers and Mark Twain wrote about getting older. Landers says, “At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.” So true! Twain writes, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” I love that wisdom!

Ever wonder how old is God? Jesus died as a 34 year old young man. When I think of God’s persona, in my imagination, God is always depicted as a white headed, white bearded elderly man, kindness radiating out his eyes. We can’t put an age on him because he has no beginning and no end. Bible scripture says old age is a gift from God. In Ruth 4:15 we read “He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.” Isaiah 46:4 says, “Even in your old age and gray hairs I am he, he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” God sustains us by taking the weight of our burdens off our shoulders. He will support us with his grace and give us peace. No worry is too small or too large to place on his shoulders.

God gives us wisdom in old age and a responsibly to listen, encourage, and mentor others into the faithfulness of God’s kingdom. Solomon wrote, “The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.” I love the thought of gray hair being the splendor of the old. What a beautiful compliment to those of us with gray hair. Nothing is more beautiful to me than a man or woman who embrace their gray hair and wrinkles as a natural part of aging. As we age we learn the importance of inner beauty as compared to physical beauty. I think God sees old age as a reward and a blessing for a life lived well. Growing old is a beautiful thing when we accept ourselves for who we truly are.

1 Timothy 5:1-2 says, “Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father…Treat older women as you would your mother.” Imagine what a change that would be in the world if these verses were taken to heart, respected, and followed. Politicians would have to bite their tongues and be mute. “Stand up in the presence of the elderly and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord,” Leviticus 19:32.

Growing old is a privilege that everyone doesn’t experience.

“It matters not how long we live but how.” — Philip James Bailey