31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 31: Laugh or Die
I did it! Except for getting behind a couple of times and having to quadruple days once, I caught up and completed this series. I’m now 31 days older now, and I don’t care. I’ve learned that living too much in the past gets old and worrying too much about the future steals hope. That to live in the now is how to live now. Thanks for hanging with me and note that the entire series can be found here. One thing I don’t think we touched on is the role of humor and the importance of laughter in healing and aging gracefully. So I leave you with these few words. “[Humor] keeps [the elderly] rolling along, singing a song. When you laugh, it’s an involuntary explosion of the lungs. The lungs need to replenish themselves with oxygen. So...
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 30: When You’re Feeling Weathered and Worn
I saw her for the first time today. She’s sat there for probably 150 years, and I’ve passed her by 150 times–or more. I don’t know what caught my eye on this gray misty day. I don’t know what forced me to halt the Journey half on road, half in ditch and gaze on her in awe–then to creep forward and backward for different perspectives. Maybe the way she’d festooned her aging frame in yellow, green, and gold. Maybe the way I could see straight through her, a window to what lay behind. I wondered about her story. How was she born? Did she house animals or machinery? Did her belly burst with corn? Did life revolve around her? Now she sits still on the stubble of a harvest. Weathered and worn, broken and bowed. Idled...
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 29: Planting and Harvest
This is what is happening in our field (and will continue late into the night) while Hurricane Sandy slams the east coast. We’re expecting her to visit here later after most of her fury is spent. Our world here is all pink and gold and peaceful while the storm rages elsewhere. “Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” ~Galatians 6:7-8 (MSG) ...
Scripture Sunday: When You Brood Over the Length of Your Life (Day 28)
After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live. ~Ecclesiastes 5:18-20...
Still Saturday: For When We Can’t Afford to Stop (Day 27)
“I’d venture that most of your precious memories occurred in spontaneous moments when you were paying attention to the present. We’re created for more than work. Our value is so much more than what we do. “In short, we’re designed to require rest and to crave beauty. Even our Creator rested and observed a Sabbath. None of us would presume to be more productive than God, yet we often act as if we can’t afford to stop, to pause, to still ourselves and rest at a soul level. If we’re going to manage our time in such a way that maximizes it, then we must be willing to live by an eternal clock, listening to God in our lives as well as listening to our bodies and hearts . . . Make the most of your time by spending it on a...
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 26: When You Fear You Have No Voice
I used to sing in a 100-voice choir, though it wasn’t that big when I first joined. I knew how to read a little bit of music because I’d taken a whole year’s worth of piano lessons. But I didn’t know how to make my voice create the notes. So I suspect I started to sing by just moving my lips, listening to the others, following their lead, tuned my ears to them. Eventually, I felt brave enough to “let it rip,” and I still remember one of our members, a singer in her own right, tell me during practice, “You just hit that high A perfectly.” I’ll never forget it. And that whole big choir? There were several with strong solo voices. But when all of us gave voice together, melting our songs into one, we...
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 25: Never Too Old
What dream are you afraid to dream? What goal are you afraid to set? If you’re feeling too old to dream, why don’t you pop over here and read about Margaret? She just got a college scholarship to the University of Michigan and drives her antique Roadster to classic car shows. Wait until you see how old she is! And really, while you’re there, you should hang out a bit and read some of the other stories. “At LaterBloomer.com, I give adult ‘late bloomers’ inspiration to pursue their passions through biographies, essays, book reviews, and more.” ~Debra...
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