Some of the people I admire most are those who age gracefully. You know what I mean. Anyone can complain about what age does to the human body—sight and hearing fade, memory fails, hair falls out, chin gets baggy, clothes shrink, blah, blah, blah.
Nobody wants to hear about your operation, and nobody really wants to hear how age has made your life more difficult. What we need are inspiring examples of how people use for God’s glory the unique powers and insights that come with maturity. We need stories of how people have overcome physical limitations to do great things for other people.
We will leave it to the young to be beautiful and strong. We older folks just want to be useful. We would like to be respected for what we sacrificed for the next two generations. We would like our words of wisdom to be heard because we have earned the right to be listened to. And we would like to finish the most important work of all—passing on our faith.
Today I promise to stop whining about getting old. Will you join me? I have important work to do, and so do you. “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation” (Psalm 71:18).