Through All Our Hopes and Fears

 in a few months my wife and i will turn seventy-five.  i remember how we felt when our parents reached that milestone.  we thought how remarkable it was that they had lived three-quarters of a century.  now we are almost at that same marker in life.  in my mind, i don't feel that old but when i engage in demanding physical activities, my body reminds me of all the years of use it has had.  i am amazed that it still functions as well as it does at my age.

during the last two days, i had some routine yard work to do and some spray painting of heavy yard ornaments to take care of.  we live at the top of a hill, and our yard slopes slightly in the back.  after i carted the weighty objects to the back of our lot to paint and back to their positions at the front of our house, my back and hips ached, even though i had used a dolly to carry the load.  both evenings after i completed my chores for the day, i had to take a pain killed in order to ease the pains.  a few years ago, these tasks would have been easy for me but now i can tell that the years have taken their toll.

these days, i have to stop and take frequent breaks when i have hours of work to do.  i can no longer go all day, pushing through tasks until they are completed.  i am grateful that i can still take care of my own yard and that, together, my wife and i can take care of the routine household chores.  we have friends who are a little older than we are who can hardly rise from a chair and who must hire someone to keep things going in and around their homes.  others have had to give up their homes altogether and move in with their children or into an "old folks home."  we hope that the day never comes when we are unable to live in our home or to take care of the necessary chores but that time may arrive for us as it has to others.  if it does, i pray that we will move on with dignity and with gratitude for having lived so long.

may we accept each stage of life as it comes to us, grateful for the memories we have made and for life itself.  may we not cling to the past or crave to be what we were in our younger years.  may we age with increasing wisdom, not with frustration at what once was.  shalom.