Had to pick up a Wally World grocery order today. Got in my car and it wouldn’t crank. Called Wally World grocery pickup four times but nobody answered, they were busy. I knew they kept the orders for 24 hours but I had already told them I was on the way. Anyway, I called oldest sister-in-law and she came to my rescue. She even called our mechanic friend and he came over mid-afternoon with a new battery for my car. I love small town living, people you know and trust helping each other. After my friend replaced the battery, I invited him in for caramel cake and coffee. My youngest son joined us and we had a lovely afternoon talking and visiting around the kitchen’s gateleg table. When he left he offered me collard greens picking privileges in his garden. If only I were 30 years younger…

Helping others reflects God’s love is a way to honor God. I think we please God when we help others. Bible scripture in Hebrews 13:16 reads, “Do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Romans 12:13 advices us to “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” When we show compassion to others we are showing our faith through our actions rather than just our words.

I ran across the best paragraphs about aging today written by Judi Dench. Someone asked her about being old and she writes of the freedom of being old and how freeing it is. She writes — “Now to answer the question honestly, I can say I like being old because old age makes me wiser and freer! I know I’m not gonna live forever, but while I’m here, I’m going to live by my own laws, those of my heart. I’m not going to regret what wasn’t, nor worry about what will be. The time that remains, I will simply love life as I did until today, the rest I’ll leave to God.” I love her words.

I can relate to every sentence. Being older we can stay up late, walk proudly into the ocean in our grandmother bathing suits, not worrying about gray hair or a few extra pounds. Being older means we have experienced heart aches and can cry for past loves. We appreciate all life has to offer. We eat the ice cream after supper and the occasional Hershey kisses and Dove candies. We look at our gray hair in the mirror in the morning and see our smile hasn’t aged. I’m enjoying this stage of my life. Guess I am old and that’s okay. I’ll be 70 years old on my April Fools birthday. My mother died shortly after her 70th birthday. Yeah, I think about that a lot. Makes me remember my brother’s sighs of relief when they passed their 56th birthdays, the age our father died. My maternal grandmother died at age 80 and my paternal grandmother died at age 90 so I think I have some years left. Chief told me once I was going to live a long happy life. I have and I am. Those words give me comfort.

The moon was so beautiful tonight resting in a cluster of clouds. I walked along with Penelope, stumbling around while watching the luminous moon play hide and seek with a gathering of pale clouds. Stephen Robert Kuta wrote, “We are just stars in our family’s constellation.” I thought about how we are like stars in a family galaxy. Stars go through various stages in their lives just like we do. A spark is ignited through nuclear fusion and a star starts to emit light just like a baby being born with the spark of life grows and develops. If we have faith, our love for God will shine like a star with our words and actions through everything think we do.

We need faith in God to live a life of fulfillment. God knows all the trials and tribulations we’ll face and putting our trust in him helps us handle life’s situations. When we trust that He knows best He will help guide us down the correct path. We can be sure of our decisions, when by prayers and faith, we let God help us decide which path to tread.

Faith in God gives us hope. The thoughts of knowing the sun will rise again gives us hope of another day. Faith in God and faith in the sun rising again each day saves us from the darkness. We don’t need to live in the darkness of troubles. Turn your worries over to God in prayer and God will flood your life with sunshine and help push the clouds of the storms away.

“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” — Sarah Williams