Part 1: Learning to Cope With Being OLD

 

Thanks for sharing this journey into aging. Let's begin by saying, "Old and age are not four-letter words." (Repeat that four times.)

 

If anything in this post makes you smile, excellent! (Yes, one corner-up counts.) Notice that people who reach very old age often laugh lot. That’s the Preface in adjusting to the idea of being elderly, but there’s more to learn. Much more….

Prepare to Be Slow

If you’re used to moving along at a clip or turning sharply on the proverbial dime, stop! Your typical adult-life pace will eventually topple you over or blow a spinal disc or throw your knees out or all of the above.

Expect to Be Clumsy, well, sometimes

Get a thermos-like bottle with a fold-up-and-down thingy to sip through. Take this with you wherever you go, even if you think you’re sitting safely, watching TV with a snack. Otherwise, when you grab the remote to change that terrible show you never meant to watch, the chances of knocking over a drink increase with each year-alive. If you’re super tired, careless, or a natural klutz, those odds double. No judgment, just an observation (or expectation.)

 

Curb Your Pride and Buy a Cane if You’re Apt to Be Tipsy (unless you had too much to drink, and then it won’t hold you up but might tempt you to whack somebody.)

If you’re having balance issues, get a cane with four-toes for steadiness. If yours didn’t come with that feature, measure the cane's diameter and order one online. Better yet, buy a more sure-footed cane in your favorite color.

 

Find a Hobby You Enjoy that Requires Movement

No, playing Bridge to exercise your wrists doesn’t count. Remember, all activities aren’t rivalries. But don’t be surprised if someone older than you beats you at pickle-ball.

 

If You Need Help, Ask

Face it. Getting old is no time to be full of yourself. Pride, at this stage, is even more likely to go before a fall. If you’ve always been the person who likes to help others, move over! Give someone else a chance to feel good about helping.

 

Expect Sleep Patterns to Change

Besides getting up a dozen times a night to head to the head, you might find worries, schedules, or memories flooding in, right when you wanted to forget everything and go to sleep. (As an expert on the subject, I’m writing this at 5 a.m. after an hour or two of naps.) Pain often keeps us awake too. And so does too much stimulation too late, so end your evening with something boring.

 

Stop Saving Pretty Much Anything for a Special Occasion

Being God’s child is special, and so is being alive! If you have something nice, enjoy it. Use that sterling silver flatware you're prepared to polish. Wear that pricey silk tie you bought on a whim. Toss your grandmother’s hand-embroidered cloth over the table and don’t serve anything that stains.

 

Scale Down

Ask your kids, grands, and other relatives (in that order) if there’s something of yours they would enjoy having. Otherwise, if you don’t need it, don’t use it, or don’t like it, give it away.  In our one-stoplight town, three churches have secondhand shops with other charitable organizations close enough to haul stuff. 

 

Take Care of Your Eyes

Aging eyes often need cataract surgery, which is not a big deal for most people (unless you’re a big crybaby) but shouldn’t be done too soon or too late. i.e., Too soon increases the likelihood of having to do it again. Too late creates a gummy-bear film. Just right can usually be determined if you glance at a light and see a blue ring – not to be confused with the blue light special.

 

Take Care of All Body Parts, Seen or Unseen

Keep up checkups with your dentist, doctor, and shoe salesperson. Yes, feet do change sizes, especially if your weight goes up or down. If you feel like Big-Foot and someone dares to ask your size, simply lie if you still care more about what other people think than who you or they truly are.

 

Care More and More What God Thinks

Read the Bible in several translations. (No, King James will not be mad, but I don’t know about Shakespeare.) Follow online devotionals. Buy devotional books to read every morning or evening or both. Keep instrumental Christian hymns playing throughout the day. (I found many on You-Tube. My favorites include the lyrics, so I can sing along without resorting to La-La-La.)

 

Pray 

Pray for your family. Pray for your church and all of God’s people around the world. (Okay. Be inclusive. Pray for anyone and everyone you really, really, really do not like.) 

Speak God’s promises over the news. Pray for leaders everywhere. Pray WITH people who need immediate prayer even if they happen to be in the next stall of a public restroom. 

Pray for yourself. Pray, pray, pray for God to guide and strengthen you. Pray to see God’s view and express your forever joy in Jesus’ Name.

 

Mary Sayler

P.S. Part 2 might look more serious. Regardless, if you have a tip to share or question to ask, please do in the Comment below. Thanks and blessings.

 

 

How To Go Around Imitating God

 

Each morning I receive an email from Bible Gateway with the verse for the day. After reading various translations on the site, I then select one to post on Twitter, but today’s verse threw me:

 

“Imitate God like His own dear children,” Ephesians 5:1, and I thought, “How can I possibly do that?”

 

I went on to other things that needed tending, but the verse kept coming to mind. When I finally sat down to give it more thought, the creation story in Genesis came to mind.

 

As we follow this first biblical passage about God, we find these first steps toward imitating God:

 

Be creative.

Be a peacemaker, a problem solver. Bring order from chaos.

Be light, and bring light to others.

Be a caretaker of the environment, starting where we are.

Be a protector of animals.

Be aware that all peoples come from the same Creator God, even if they don’t know it.

Be respectful of others and yourself.

Be in constant communion with God.

Be ready to work and ready to rest.

Be Love, Beloved.

 

©2021, Mary Sayler

 

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Wising up! Praying for wisdom

 [Note: Our rural church, Lake Como Community of Hope in Lake Como, Florida, is non-denominational with several retired pastors of varied church backgrounds gracing our pulpit each week. Every now and then, however, scheduling conflicts or unexpected personal concerns leave us without a pastor to lead that day’s worship service. Since Sunday August 17 was such a day, I read the recommended Bible readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Christian denominations then presented the following “Bible Talk,” based on the reoccurring theme of wisdom.]

1 Kings 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

With COVID again on the rise, we’re wise to wear masks in public, but Lord willing, we will all have unveiled faces soon! Meanwhile, let’s keep praying for the Lord’s healing presence in our lives. In fact, let’s pray right now:

Lord God, heavenly Father, thank You for bringing us together in prayer, worship, and fellowship with You and with each other. In many ways, Lord, these are troubled times, but we trust You to protect, heal, and guide us, our families, and our church. We praise You and thank You for being with us as we come into Your presence and Your Word in Jesus’ Name.

As you probably noticed, the big theme in the Bible readings this morning is wisdom. So, truth time: Are you wise?

Do you want to be wise?

Have you ever asked God to give you a gift of wisdom? If not, ask! If so, you have it! Believe it. Claim it. It’s yours.

Hearing Solomon’s prayer again this morning, I remember the first time I heard that Bible story in 1 Kings. Solomon was wise enough to ask for wisdom, and the request pleased God so much, He gave the king gifts of wisdom, understanding, and discernment – unsurpassed until Jesus came.

But God also promised to honor Solomon with riches and a long life. And the truth is: that’s what I wanted. I probably wasn’t as interested in having wisdom as having more money than my 50-cent allowance allowed!

Despite my questionable motivations, wisdom is ageless. I first saw wisdom in my children when they were too young for an allowance of any kind! For example, my daughter was about 5 when she came home from Sunday School, puzzled. The teacher had been talking about people in other countries who didn’t know about God and/or did not believe in Him. My daughter looked at me sadly and asked, “But wouldn’t we believe that too if we lived in another country?”

Most likely, yes. And that brings us to a message about wisdom in verse 10 of Psalm 111. i.e., Knowing God, believing in God, and, especially, being in awe of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Wisdom keeps us out of trouble! As we’re reminded by today’s Epistle reading in Ephesians 5, we’re to live – not as unwise people – but as wise. This can require head knowledge, but mostly it requires the ability to know how and when to apply knowledge in a wise and timely manner.

Ephesians 5 goes on to point out the need to be filled with the Spirit as we sing scripturally-sound songs, regularly read God’s Word, and faithfully give thanks to God the Father for everything – everything – in Jesus’ Name.

Christ lives in us and redeems us from humanity’s Fall from Grace in the Beginning of Time. Before that one act of disobedience brought spiritual death and troubles to everyone in the world, Adam and Eve had wisdom! They walked with God. They heard God speak. They had fellowship with Him – until opting for Knowledge over the Wisdom they already possessed.

Remember? They disobeyed God when they ate from the forbidden fruit of the Tree of KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil. From that moment on, they no longer had the innocence still apparent in today’s young children, but they could not turn back. No one could – until Jesus came along!

Jesus redeems the times. Jesus renews our fellowship with God and breathes new life into us – the life of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives us peace with God, peace with other people, and peace with ourselves.

As the Wisdom of God with us on earth and beyond, the Lord knows what we need. He alone has full KNOWLEDGE of the good and no-so-good thoughts, acts, and traits in us. He alone can rescue us from ourselves.

The Gospel reading in John reassures us that Jesus gave Himself for the life of the world to be transformed into life with God. But that’s only the beginning. To live out our time on earth more fully and faithfully – and joyfully – we need Wisdom to guide us. And all we have to do is ask!

As we read, study, and talk about the Bible, we can see that God has made promise after promise to us, individually, and to the church Body of Christ throughout the world. Our part is to believe, respond, claim those promises, and ask for whatever we lack, knowing God will provide. And why wouldn’t He? We are His ambassadors – representatives of Christ in the world. Surely, the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, and Heavenly Father of All does not want us to speak for Him foolishly nor would He want us to act unkindly – unwisely – toward anyone else.

God has not only given us wisdom for the asking, but He’s also given us power to use that gift as we’re enabled and guided by His Holy Spirit.

What a powerful purpose we’ve been given – to help others and, indeed, to influence the whole world as we spread the Good News of forgiveness and salvation in the Resurrected Christ! Even Solomon didn’t have that. The young king had hope of a long life on earth because God Himself said he would. But to us, God promises an even longer life – one that never ends!

That’s not the kind of power I thought I might get as a child, and, as you might have expected, I haven’t received the massive wealth I had once hoped to get!  But what a wealth of wisdom widely available to all who ask – wisdom:

• In the book of Proverbs (attributed to Solomon!)
• Wisdom in the Gospels – the Good News of Jesus Christ
• Wisdom in communal worship, fellowship, and Bible study
• Wisdom in praying for ourselves and one another – in praying for our church home and Christians around the world
• Wisdom in the gift of God that comes to those who ask!

Let’s ask now:

Dear Lord God – Master, Possessor, and Provider of All Power, All Wisdom, and all the Wealth of the earth and universe, we ask You now for the gift of discernment and the wisdom to lead the kind of life to which You have called us. We praise You, Lord, for forgiving us and lifting us into Your compelling love. And we thank You for giving us the power, authority, and every other provision we need to carry out the work You have given us to do in Jesus’ Holy Name.

 

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler

 

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Must we be divided?

This quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln is actually a word from Jesus:

"And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand," Mark3:24-25, King James Version (KJV.)

Regardless of our political preferences and despite our worse fears, may God's people come together as one Body of Christ!

Until the Lord comes again, the Family of God is the hope and the hands-on instrument of healing unity for individuals, the church, our country, and, indeed, the world.

Pray for wisdom!

Pray for the Lord's power to flow through us - mightily.

Pray for the Kingdom of God!

Mary Harwell Sayler

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