Joyce Meyer - How to Age Without Getting Old: The Steps You Can Take Today to Stay Young for the Rest of Your Life

C an you remember being very young and looking at someone in their fifties or sixties and saying, She is old! When we are in our teens or twenties, we cannot imagine being seventy-five years old. But eventually, we probably will be. The years pass for everyone. Some people navigate the changes associated with growing older gracefully, but many do not. Fearing, dreading, or refusing to admit that the aging process is happening doesnt eliminate it. Worrying about it or ignoring it certainly doesnt make aging any easier but, in fact, makes it more challenging.

I firmly believe that we should enjoy all the years that God gives us. In order to do so, we need to prepare for lifes latter years. The earlier we begin this preparation, the easier it will be and the better the results will be.

During our young adult years and even into middle age, we are full of dreams and plans for the future. Were usually not thinking about getting older. Somehow, we mistakenly believe we will always be young. My youngest child just turned forty years old, and none of us can believe the baby of the family is forty! However, he is, and he may find that being this age requires some minor changes and adjustments.

Not wanting to think about growing older is understandable, but problems arise when people are unwilling to make the changes each new season of life calls for and persist in being unwise in managing their health and their time. Busy is the disease of the twenty-first century, and it causes stress. If stress is ignored for too long, it will have long-term or even permanent negative effects on how we feel and what we are able to do as we grow older.

We can learn from the experiences of those who have gone before us, and I hope this book will provide some lessons from my life for you. My goal in these pages is to share openly the experiences and knowledge I have gained over the years in regard to aging. My hope is that it will help you avoid some of the mistakes I have made so that you can age well. We can do nothing about adding one year to our age every twelve months, but there is a lot we can do to keep from getting old.

I would like you to say aloud right now, Someday I am going to be seventy-five years old, and then eighty and perhaps ninety, depending on how many years God gives me. I will not fear or dread the years ahead.

No matter how young you are right now, I think it is important to think about your latter years. Let me encourage you to look forward to them and believe that even though life will be different when you are older, it can still be very, very good.

You may notice as you read that I have not filled this book with pages of statistics on aging. You can access those easily by searching the Internet if you are interested in them. I have found some of them to be very negative. I dont want to expect my body and mind to break down at a certain age because thats what the experts predict. I want to see what God does with me. I believe that He has an individual plan for each of us and for the course of our lives. If we follow His guidance, we will end up at the right place at the right time.

Before you read further, let me challenge you to ask yourself an important question: Will you simply let yourself get old, or will you age gracefully, purposefully, and wisely, allowing God to use you in every season of your life? If you will, I believe your latter years can be absolutely wonderful.

K EYS TO JOY AT ANY AGE:
L IVE SIMPLY .
G IVE GENEROUSLY .
R ECEIVE GRACIOUSLY .
S TAY GRATEFUL .

P.C.F.