There is a great quote by Meryl Streep about getting old. She says, “Aging is not for the weak. One day you wake up and realize that your youth is gone, but along with it, so go insecurity, haste, and the need to please.… You learn to walk more slowly, but with greater certainty. You say goodbye without fear, and you cherish those who stay.” Getting old is a privilege a lot of folks don’t experience.

The Bible speaks of growing old as a natural part of life. God loves us older folks, promising to support us throughout our lives. The Bible instructs us to treat the elderly with reverence and respect. Leviticus 19:32 commands us to “stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man.” In biblical scripture gray hair is a blessing representing a life of righteous wisdom. Proverbs 16:13 states, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.” Scripture also tells us the wisdom in our older years has been grown and tested by experience. Job 12:12 reads, “Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.”

I love that God has a special feeling of love and grace for widows, a comfort to me in my widowhood. The Bible Scripture commands us to honor widows, showing respect and support. Psalm 68:5 states God is “a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Other scripture warns against mistreating widows and instructs the church and their families to see their needs are met.

Psalm 92:14, reminding us to minister of God’s love and grace even as we age, reads, “Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will be vital and green.” We have to continue growing our faith and sharing our spiritual fruit with younger generations. We should view aging as a time to rely on the strength of God and to leave a legacy of faith.

Today has reminded me again of my age and upcoming 70th birthday April 1, so many things getting harder to do. I do love the perks of being an old lady, though, the unscheduled braless days, the glorious visits with my grandchildren, to be or not to be all up to me. Makes me think of The Senility Prayer — “Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.” Never fails to make me laugh.

“The aging process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over, and runs off laughing,” John Mortimer. Spent forever trying to open a bottle of omeprazole this morning. I purchased the easy open bottle but when I aligned the arrows nothing happened. My thumb would not budge the lid off, a beaver couldn’t have chewed the lid off. Got a screwdriver and pried it off and left it on the kitchen so I could later pour the pills in an easy open bottle. Next was the new bottle of Tylenol arthritis. You would think a product made for folks with arthritis would have an easy lid. Well, it was the push down and turn “dern” lid which has always given me trouble. Finally got it open and poured the Tylenol in the old bottle with the screw on lid. It just keeps going… the bottle of Listerine with the squeeze and hold and turn lid, who thinks this up. I’m all for protecting children but seriously. Missed the sunset fooling with a head of cabbage and a grater with a suction cup bottom. I guess I forgot why you should always purchase shredded cabbage for making slaw. I know now. My son just yelled from the kitchen, “Mama, you left the lid off your omeprazole so I closed it for you.” Oh, my God!

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” — Unknown