June Hunt - Aging Well: Living Long, Finishing Strong

Aging Well: Living Long, Finishing Strong
Copyright 2017 Hope For The Heart
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Dear Friend,

I remember the day I began searching my heart for memorable role modelspositive people who knew how to make the golden years golden. Suddenly, I realized I was already very actively involved with four extraordinary siblingsall senior citizens, who clearly knew how to live long and like it.

All grew up during the Great Depression, all experienced the painful loss of their father, who died in his 40s from tuberculosis. Yet each was exceptionally positive, especially in their senior years. They were the Ray family. Actually they were my family: my mother, Ruthaffectionately known by many as Granny Ruthand three of her siblings, Swann, Pat, and James.

They were all encouragers, influencers, giversall willing to help anyone, anywhere, anytime. Because their last name was Ray , I call them Rays of Sunshine. (You will enjoy some of their wit and wisdom about aging scattered throughout these pages.)

Everyone seemed to smile when meeting Swann. And once they met her, they didnt forget her. In fact, people were fascinated by herspecifically because of her name! When she married Charles Lake, she legally became Swann Lake, and she absolutely loved it! (Some folks surmised she only married Charles to get his last name!)

During her middle-aged years, she became an apartment manager, then after her husbands death, she established Swann Lake Realtors, which she managed throughout her 70s.

Even in her late 90s, spunky, white-haired Swann took great delight in making people laugh about growing older. With an endless arsenal of jokes and clever sayings about the perils of aging, she always began her short talks with a twinkle in her eye and a question on her lips.

How do you know youre getting old?

• You get winded playing cards.
• Your back goes out more than you do.
• You need glasses to find your glasses.
• Your knees buckle, but your belt wont.
• You sit in a rocking chair, and cant get it going.
• You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.

While humor abounds about aging, consider these thought-provoking words: Dont regret growing older, its a privilege denied to many.

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you (Deuteronomy 32:7). I pray that God will use the biblical truths in these pages to bless you, give you hope, and encourage you to finish strong .

Yours in the Lords hope,

June Hunt

AGING WELL

Living Long, Finishing Strong

Some people compare aging in life to an ordinary roll of toilet paper: The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes! This imagery makes people smile; however, for many, the thought of aging is dreaded like the plague. And, with todays emphasis on youth and vitality, the tendency is to believe: Old age is something everybody else reaches before we do.

Aging gracefully does not always come easily. In fact, one philosopher wrote, To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.

Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me
when my strength is gone.
(Psalm 71:9)

DEFINITIONS

What Is Aging?

What does it mean to age gracefully ? For some, it means maintaining an eternally youthful appearance. To others, it means keeping pace with younger people.

But consider a different perspective that doesnt involve looking or acting any younger than our actual years. At the heart of aging gracefully is the word grace , meaning a gift we dont deserve. God is a generous giver of grace. Therefore, we can experience aging gracefully , entrusting our lives into His care, leaning fully on His strength, and loving people with His love. In this way, we grow more fully in grace with each passing year. And in doing so, we grow more faithfully to the call of God in our lives.

Your faith is growing more and more,
and the love all of you have
for one another is increasing.
(2 Thessalonians 1:3)

• Aging is a process of growing physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in order to move toward maturity .

  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature (James 1:4).

• Maturity in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word teleios , which means complete or growth in mental and moral character.

  But solid food is for the mature (Hebrews 5:14).

  • Gods purpose in the process of aging is to bring us to spiritual maturity by deepening our faith and developing our dependence on the Lordon the presence of Christ within us.
  • Gods intention is that we become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Key Aging-Related Terminology

• Gerontology is the study of old age and the process of becoming old.
  • The Bible presents growing old as an honorable and natural part of life.
  • We may live for the moment when young, but with age comes an awareness of our own mortality. We take stock of our remaining resources (time, talents, treasures) and look for ways to invest them in people and projects that hold lasting meaning. Such was the case of Abraham, who lived to be 175 years old (Genesis 25:7).