Grandma and Grandpa<\/b><\/p>\n
After Christmas vacation, a teacher asked her small pupils to write an account of how they spent their holidays. One youngster wrote about a visit to his grandparents in a life-care community for retired folks:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa,\u201d he said. They used to live here in a big red house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey live in a place with a lot of retarded people. They live in tin huts. They ride big three wheel tricycles. They go to a big building they call a wrecked hall but it is fixed now. They play games there and do exercises, but they don\u2019t do them very good. There is a swimming pool and they go to it and just stand there in the water with their hats on. I guess they don\u2019t know how to swim.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandma used to bake cookies and stuff. But I guess she forgot how. Nobody cooks–they all go out to fast food restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you come into the park, there is a doll house with a man sitting in it. He watches all day, so they can\u2019t get out without him seeing them. They wear badges with their names on them. I guess they don\u2019t know who they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Grandpa and Grandma worked hard all their lives and earned their retardment. I wish they would move back home but I guess the man in the doll house won\u2019t let them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric W. Johnson, Humorous Stories About the Human Condition (Prometheus Books), quoted in Bits & Pieces, January 5, 1995, pp. 5-6<\/p>\n
Quotes<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Jeanne Calment is the oldest living human whose age can be verified. On her 120th birthday, she was asked to describe her visioin for the future. \u201cVery brief,\u201d she said. – Clark Cothern, Tecumseh, Michigan<\/p>\n
2. Another woman was asked the benefits of living to the age of 102. After a pause, she answered, \u201cNo peer pressure!\u201d – Win Arn, Arcadia California<\/p>\n
3. Finally, John Fetterman, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, Wisconsin, told of an elderly woman who died. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers. In her instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t take me out while I was alive; I don\u2019t want them to take me out when I\u2019m dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Homiletics (Jan.-Mar.\/96), quoted in Preaching Resources, Spring 1996, p. 77.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m Not Growing Old<\/b><\/p>\n
They say that I am growing old I\u2019ve heard them say it times untold In language plain and bold But I\u2019m not growing old This frail old shell in which I dwell Is growing old I know full well But I\u2019m not growing old.<\/p>\n
What if my hair has turned gray Gray hair is honorable, they say What if my eye sight\u2019s growing dim I can still see to follow Him Who sacrificed His life for me There on the cross of Calvary<\/p>\n
Why should I care if time\u2019s old plow Has dug some furrows in my brow. Another house not made with hand Awaits me in the glory land. My hearing may not be as keen As in the past, it may have been Still I can hear my Savior say Come faltering child, this is the way.<\/p>\n
The outward man, do what I can To lengthen out this life\u2019s short span Shall perish and return to dust As everything in nature must. But the inward man the Scriptures say Ah, the inward man Is growing stronger every day.<\/p>\n
Then how can I be growing old? I\u2019m safe within the Saviour\u2019s fold \u2018Er long my soul shall fly away And leave this tenement of clay This robe of flesh I\u2019ll drop and rise To seize the everlasting prize I\u2019ll meet you on the streets of gold And prove that I\u2019m not growing old.<\/p>\n
– John E. Roberts<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Beatitudes For Friends Of The Aged<\/b><\/p>\n
Blessed are they who understand My faltering steps and my palsied hand<\/p>\n
And blessed are they that know that my ears today Must strain to hear what they have to say.<\/p>\n
And blessed are they that seem to know That my eyes are dim and my wits are slow.<\/p>\n
And blessed are they that looked away When my coffee spilled at lunch today.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they with a cheery smile Who stop to chat for a little while.<\/p>\n
And blessed are they who never say You told that story twice today.<\/p>\n
And blessed are those who know the way To bring back the memories of yesterday.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who make it known That I\u2019m loved, respected and not alone.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who know I\u2019m at a loss To find the strength to carry my cross.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who ease the days Of my journey home, in loving ways.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
How Do You Rate?<\/b><\/p>\n
You know when you are growing old when\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Everything hurts and what doesn\u2019t hurt, doesn\u2019t work, your knees buckle and your belt won\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You sit down in a rocking chair and you can hardly get it going and you regret all those times you resisted temptation.<\/p>\n
\u2022 If you go into a bar, you order Geritol on the rocks. You think gay means happy and vivacious.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You look forward to spending a quiet evening at home.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your back goes out oftener than you do.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You know all the answers but no one asks the questions.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your little black book contains a lot of phone numbers but they all end in M.D.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your mind makes agreements your body can\u2019t keep.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You finally get it all together and then you can\u2019t remember where you put it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You get tired dialing long distance.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You can\u2019t seem to get around to procrastinating.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your favorite newspaper column is 25 years ago today – or more.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You don\u2019t need an alarm clock to get up at 6 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 After painting the town red, you wait a long time before applying a second coat.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You burn the midnight oil by 9 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You feel like the morning after and you haven\u2019t even been any place.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Anything under a quarter isn\u2019t worth bending over to pick up.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your pacemaker opens the garage door whenever you see a pretty lady go by.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You might get winded playing checkers.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The only whistles you get are from the teakettle.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your children begin to look middle aged.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The gleam in your eye is just the sun reflecting on your bifocals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You stop to think and sometimes you can\u2019t get started again.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You sink your teeth into a nice juicy steak and they stay there.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You finally make it to the top of the ladder but it\u2019s leaning against the wrong wall.<\/p>\n
Now if you have any of the above symptoms, you might consider joining the geriatrics club.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Things Change<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Everything is farther away than it used to be. It\u2019s twice as far to the corner and you know they\u2019ve added a hill.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I\u2019ve given up running for the bus cause it leaves so much faster than it used to.<\/p>\n
\u2022 It seems to me they are making stairs much steeper than they used to be.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Have you noticed the small print they are putting in newspapers and it\u2019s no use asking anyone to read to you aloud because they all talk so low and mumble so bad you can\u2019t hear them.<\/p>\n
\u2022 And the material in dresses is so skimpy\u2014especially around the waist and the hips.<\/p>\n
\u2022 It\u2019s all most impossible to reach my shoe laces now.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Even people are changing. They are so much younger than I was at their age. On the other hand people my age are so much older than I am.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I ran into an old classmate the other day and she had aged so much I didn\u2019t even recognize her.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I was combing my hair and in doing so glanced in the mirror and you know something. They\u2019re not even making mirrors like they used to.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Long Life in America<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to live a long life, at least in America. Look at the statistics: Out of every 100,000 persons, 88,361 reach 50 years of age, more than 70,000 make it to 70, and almost 17,000 get to 85 or more. Staying around a long time, however, should not be our primary goal. Rather, we should be concerned with giving significance and value to all our years and not letting them end in shame and disgrace.<\/p>\n
How we finish the race depends to a great extent on the pace we set along the way. Joseph Wittig remarked that when we write people\u2019s biographies we should start with their death, not their birth. After all, we have nothing to do with the way our life began, but we have a lot to do with the way it ends.<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, February 24, 1995<\/p>\n
George Burns<\/b><\/p>\n
George Burns once said, \u201cTennis is a game for young people. Until age 25, you can play singles. From there until age 35, you should play doubles. I won\u2019t tell you my age, but when I played, there were 28 people on the court — just on my side of the net.<\/p>\n
Bits & Pieces, April 28, 1994, p. 19<\/p>\n
Man is Like an Automobile<\/b><\/p>\n
Man is like an automobile. As it gets older, the differential starts slipping, and the u-joints get worn, causing the drive shaft to go bad. The transmission won\u2019t go into high gear and sometimes has difficulty getting out of low. The cylinders get worn and lose compression, making it hard to climb the slightest incline. When it is climbing, the tappets clatter and ping to the point where one wonders if the old bus will make it to the top. The carburetor gets fouled with pollutants and other matter, making it hard to get started in the morning. It is hard to keep the radiator filled because of the leaking hose. The thermostat goes out, making it difficult to reach operating temperature. The headlights grow dim, and the horn gets weaker. The memory chip drops a few bytes, and the battery needs constant recharging. But if the body looks good with no bangs, dents or chipping paint, we can keep it washed and polished, giving the impression that it can compete with the newer models and make one more trip down the primrose lane before the head gasket blows. Gentlemen, start your engines.<\/p>\n
Pinging Like Crazy in Tulsa, in Ann Landers, Spokesman Review, December 24, 1993, p. D2.<\/p>\n
Married 50 Years<\/b><\/p>\n
A couple had been married for 50 years. \u201cThings have really changed,\u201d she said. \u201cYou used to sit very close to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I can remedy that,\u201d he said, moving next to her on the couch.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you used to hold me tight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s that?\u201d he asked as he gave her a hug.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember you used to nudge my neck and nibble on my ear loves?\u201d<\/p>\n
He jumped to his feet and left the room. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be right back,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to get my teeth!\u201d<\/p>\n
Tal D. Bonham and Jack Gulledge, The Treasury of Clean Senior Adult Jokes (Broadman) quoted in Reader\u2019s Digest<\/p>\n
How Old are You?<\/b><\/p>\n
Children touring a retirement home were asked by a resident if they had any questions. \u201cYes,\u201d one girl said. \u201cHow old are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 98, \u201d she replied proudly.<\/p>\n
Clearly impressed, the child\u2019s eyes grew wide with wonder. \u201cDid you start at one?\u201d<\/p>\n
Contributed by Ruth Naylor, Reader\u2019s Digest<\/p>\n
The Check-up<\/b><\/p>\n
Thought I\u2019d let my doctor check me Cause I didn\u2019t feel quite right All those aches and pains annoyed me And I couldn\u2019t get to sleep at night.<\/p>\n
He could find no real disorder But he couldn\u2019t let me rest What with Medicare and Blue Cross It wouldn\u2019t hurt to do some tests.<\/p>\n
To the hospital he sent me Though I didn\u2019t feel that bad He arranged for them to give me Every test that could be had.<\/p>\n
I was flouroscoped and cystoscoped My aging frame displayed, Stripped upon an ice cold table While my gizzards were X-rayed.<\/p>\n
I was checked for worms and parasites For fungus and the Crud While they pierced me with long needles Taking samples of my blood.<\/p>\n
Doctors came to check me over Prodded and pushed and poked around, And to make sure that I was living They wired me up for sound.<\/p>\n
They have finally concluded: (Their results have filled a page) What I have will someday kill me, My affliction is …..Old Age.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Beatitudes for friends of the aged<\/b><\/p>\n
Blessed are they who understand My faltering step and palsied hand.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who know that my ears today Must strain to catch the things they say.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who seem to know That my eyes are dim and my wits are slow.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who looked away When coffee spilled at table today.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they with a cheery smile Who stop to chat for a little while.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who never say, \u201cYou\u2019ve told that story twice today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who know the ways To bring back memories of yesterdays.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who make it known That I\u2019m loved, respected and not alone.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who know I\u2019m at a loss To find the strength to carry the Cross.<\/p>\n
Blessed are they who ease the days On my journey Home in loving ways.<\/p>\n
– Esther Mary Walker<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Greatest Contributions After Age 65<\/b><\/p>\n
Old age is dreaded by almost everyone because it usually means loneliness, physical decline, and a retreat to inactivity. Some people tend to lose their enthusiasm for life and spend too much time in fruitless reminiscing and self-pity. They feel like \u201cOld Jimmy,\u201d an elderly gentleman George Mueller often told about. When this man was asked what he did all day since he had retired, he replied, \u201cI just sit and think, and sit and think,…and sometimes I just sit!\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s getting old in the worst way — ceasing to live before we die. History records that many people made some of their greatest contributions to society after the age of 65.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Earl of Halsburg, for example, was 90 when he began preparing a 20-volume revision of English law.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Goethe wrote Faust at 82.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Galileo made his greatest discovery when he was 73. At 69.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Hudson Taylor was still vigorously working on the mission field, opening up new territories in Indochina.<\/p>\n
\u2022 And when Caleb was 85, he took the stronghold of the giants (Josh. 14:10\u201315).<\/p>\n
God never intends for us to retire from spiritual activity. The Bible says we can \u201cstill bring forth fruit in old age.\u201d Even as Jesus kept the \u201cbest wine\u201d for the last at the wedding in Cana (John 2:10), so He seeks to gather the most luscious clusters of the fruit of the Spirit from the fully ripened harvest of our lives.<\/p>\n
You may be sure God wouldn\u2019t keep you on this earth if He didn\u2019t have a worthwhile ministry for you to accomplish. So keep on serving the Lord!–H.G.B.<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread. March 2<\/p>\n
Gentle Rebuke<\/b><\/p>\n
The great evangelist George Whitefield was relating the difficulties of the gospel ministry to some friends. He said that he was weary of the burdens and was glad that his work would soon be over and that he would depart this earthly scene to be with Christ. The others admitted having similar feelings — all except one, a Mr. Tennant. Noting this, Whitefield tapped him on the knee and said, \u201cWell, Brother Tennant, you are the oldest among us; do you not rejoice to think that your time is so near at hand when you will be called Home?\u201d<\/p>\n
The old man answered bluntly that he had no wish about it. When pressed for something more definite, he added, \u201cI have nothing to do with death. My business is to live as long as I can, and as well as I can, and serve my Savior as faithfully as I can, until He thinks it\u2019s time to call me Home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitefield accepted that word as a gentle rebuke from the Lord, and it helped him go on with his work calmly and patiently.<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, April 12<\/p>\n
Seasons of Life<\/b><\/p>\n
The closing years of life can be peaceful, happy, and productive. A man or woman of God doesn\u2019t need to escape them by dwelling on past glories; nor does he need to make them miserable by developing a bitter, complaining spirit. God gives the whole of life to live, and the psalmist suggests that even our later years can be fruitful and flourishing. But we must begin by being happy now!<\/p>\n
The well-known Christian psychiatrist Paul Tournier gives insight on this subject in his book The Seasons of Life. He writes, \u201cTrue happiness is always linked with deep, inner harmony. It therefore always implies an acceptance of one\u2019s age; the acceptance of no longer being a child when one has reached the age of adulthood, and the giving up of the goals of active life when one is advance in years. This is the age of retirement, which for some men can be a meaningful experience, while for others it is a cruel trial.<\/p>\n
Why such differences? Partly, undoubtedly, this comes from differences in temperament. Yet more so from something else. Those who complain about their retirement are usually the same ones as those who used to complain about their work and longed to be set free from it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, May 2<\/p>\n
How to Know You\u2019re Getting Older<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Everything hurts! and what doesn\u2019t hurt, doesn\u2019t work!<\/p>\n
\u2022 You feel like the night before, and you haven\u2019t been anywhere!<\/p>\n
\u2022 You sit in a rocking chair and you can\u2019t get it going!<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your knees buckle and your belt won\u2019t!<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dialing long distance wears you out!<\/p>\n
\u2022 Your fortune teller offers to read your face!<\/p>\n
\u2022 The little gray haired lady you help across the street is your wife!<\/p>\n
\u2022 You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there!<\/p>\n
\u2022 You wake up in the morning and your water bed has sprung a leak, and you realize you don\u2019t have a water bed!<\/p>\n
\u2022 When you watch a pretty girl go by, your pace-maker makes the garage door go up!<\/p>\n
\u2022 When you know all the answers, and no one asks you the questions!<\/p>\n
\u2022 When you decide to procrastinate, but never get around to it!<\/p>\n
Strengthening Our Grip, C. Swindoll, p. 128<\/p>\n
Quote<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Old age is always 15 years older than I am. – Bernard Baruch<\/p>\n
\u2022 By the time a person gets to greener pastures, he can\u2019t climb the fence. Frank Dickson, quoted by Ira G. Corn, Jr., United Feature Syndicate<\/p>\n
\u2022 Wisdom doesn\u2019t automatically come with old age. Nothing does — except wrinkles. It\u2019s true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place. – Abigail Van Buren, Chicago Tribute-New York News Syndicate<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lowell Thomas, speaking at a luncheon, warned that one of the dangers of passing the 80th year of age is that \u201ceverything you say reminds you of something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 It\u2019s only natural for older people to be quiet. They have a lot more to be quiet about.<\/p>\n
Editor & Publisher, quoted in Reader\u2019s Digest, May, 1980<\/p>\n
Crunchy Delicacy<\/b><\/p>\n
The distinguished behaviorist B.F. Skinner was addressing the Nova University 1978 Conference on Aging. He was explaining how, at age 74, he made allowances for his impaired vision and hearing.<\/p>\n
Skinner recalled a time when he was having a Chinese meal in a busy senior-center living room, and someone sitting near him pointed out the food in the middle of the table. Skinner decided he was expected to eat some. As he took a piece, he admired its thin, pale-brown crust. Eating the crunchy delicacy, he wondered how the Chinese were able to produce such a fragile, yet crispy, crust. Then he noticed that his neighbor was eating the same thing. She was peeling hers.<\/p>\n
It was a hard-boiled egg.<\/p>\n
Contributed by Marylou Hughes, Reader\u2019s Digest, May, 1980<\/p>\n
Happiest Time of Life<\/b><\/p>\n
The greatest happiness usually comes not in youth, but in old age. Men generally are happiest during their middle sixties, women during their seventies.<\/p>\n
Unhappiest time: early fifties for men, late forties for women.<\/p>\n
Gail Sheehy, quoted in Homemade, November, 1984<\/p>\n
Most Rewarding Time of Life<\/b><\/p>\n
Old age can be a most rewarding period of life. For those who have found the satisfaction of a loving and close relationship with the Heavenly Father through faith in His Son, the \u201csunset years\u201d can be more appropriately labeled the \u201cgolden years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry Durbanville felt that way. In his book The Best Is Yet To Be he wrote, \u201cI feel so sorry for folks who don\u2019t like to grow old…I revel in my years. They enrich me…I would not exchange…the abiding rest of soul, the measure of wisdom I have gained from the sweet and bitter and perplexing experiences of life; nor the confirmed faith I now have in the…love of God, for all the bright and uncertain hopes and tumultuous joys of youth. Indeed, I would not! These are the best years of my life…The way grows brighter; the birds sing sweeter; the winds blow softer; the sun shines more radiantly than ever before. I suppose \u2018my outward man\u2019 is perishing, but \u2018my inward an\u2019 is being joyously renewed day by day.<\/p>\n
Robertson McQuilkin wrote, \u201cGod planned the strength and beauty of youth to be physical. But the strength and beauty of age is spiritual. We gradually lose the strength and beauty that is temporary so we\u2019ll be sure to concentrate on the strength and beauty that is forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, December 16<\/p>\n
Increases Risk of Heart Attack<\/b><\/p>\n
Retirement may increase a man\u2019s risk of dying of heart attack. \u201cWe found an 80 percent higher rate of death from coronary disease among those in a study who had retired compared with those who had not,\u201d said Dr. Charles H. Hennekens of Harvard Medical School. It may be that some people who retire get all nervous about it and kind of tense,\u201d said Hennekens. \u201cThat may be a way of explaining this, but I just don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hennekens said he and his colleagues were trying to set up a long-term study of up to 10,000 elderly persons to determine their physical and mental responses to retirement. Among the variables not included in the current data, he said, were length of retirement, changes in lifestyle and attitudes toward retirement. The last may be very important, he said, since \u201cfor some people, retirement is a reward for a lifetime\u2019s work and they look forward to it. But for other people, it is a punishment for growing old. Those who feel that way perhaps might be the ones who get nervous, but we don\u2019t have that breakdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each victim was matched with another man of similar age living in the same neighborhood. Of the 568 pairs of victims and controls, 102 included one retiree and one person still at work. Of those, Hennekens said, 76 of the dead men were retirees, while only 26 of the living men had retired. After adjusting the information for age differences and other variables, he said, \u201cthere was still this 80 percent association.\u201d He said the tentative findings applied only to men in whom coronary disease is much more common than in women. By age 60, one in five American men will have had a coronary problem, while the figure for women is about one in 17.<\/p>\n
Des Moines Register, November 11, 1979, Fingertip Facts.<\/p>\n
Shall I? – Or – Have I?<\/b><\/p>\n
Just a line to say I\u2019m living That I\u2019m not among the dead. Though I\u2019m getting more forgetful And more mixed up in the head.<\/p>\n
For sometimes I can\u2019t remember When I stand at foot of stair, If I must go up for something Or I\u2019ve just come down from there.<\/p>\n
And before the frig\u2019, so often My poor mind is filled with doubt, Have I just put food away, or Have I come to take some out?<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s times when it is dark out With my nightcap on my head, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m retiring Or just getting out of bed.<\/p>\n
So if it\u2019s my turn to write you There\u2019s no need of getting sore, I may think I have written And don\u2019t want to be a bore.<\/p>\n
So, remember…I do love you, And I wish that you were here; But now, it is nearly mail time So I must say: \u201cGoodbye Dear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here I stand beside the mailbox, With my face so very red, Instead of mailing you this letter… I have opened it instead….<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
But Not Today<\/b><\/p>\n
I shall grow old perhaps, but not today, not while my hopes are young, my spirit strong, my vision clear, because life has a way of smoothing out the wrinkles with a song.<\/p>\n
I shall grow old, perhaps, but not today, not while my dreams remain a shining shield, my faith a lance, and \u2018neath a sky of gray, my colors wave upon the battlefield.<\/p>\n
I shall grow old, perhaps, but not today, not while this pen can write upon a page, and memories turn Winter into May, shall this stout heart be brought to terms by age?<\/p>\n
I shall grow old, perhaps, but not today, and scorning Time who would enlist my tears, I stand convinced there is a better way, of occupying all the coming years.<\/p>\n
I shall grow old, perhaps, but not today, in my own style and in my own sweet time, no night so dark there does not fall a ray of light along the pathway that I climb.<\/p>\n
Just say of me, when my last hour slips like one bright leaf to softly rest among the others… \u201cLife was Summer to the heart, of one who died believing she was young.\u201d<\/p>\n
– Grace E. Easley<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
F. B. Meyer<\/b><\/p>\n
F.B. Meyer once confided to his friend F.A. Robinson of Toronto, \u201c I do hope my Father will let the river of my life go flowing fully until the finish. I don\u2019t want it to end in a swamp.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 193<\/p>\n
Little Pills Where Goeth Thou?<\/b><\/p>\n
We take pink pills for old arthritis and green ones, perhaps, for the heart. A blue one because you are dizzy–hope the stomach can tell them apart. A white pill controls the blood pressure; a red one helps soften the stool; A yellow one calms you down greatly so you won\u2019t be acting the fool.<\/p>\n
There are two-toned, and gray and brown pills for relief from head-aches and gout, Diabetes, ulcers and heartburn, sure hope each pill knows the right route. What a terrible mess up there could be if your headache pill went to your toe, And the laxative pill traveled upward \u2019cause it wasn\u2019t quite sure where to go.<\/p>\n
If this should ever happen to you, you\u2019d either laugh or you\u2019d weep. \u2019Cause you\u2019d probably run off at the mouth and your feet would be falling asleep. How in the world could you stop the dilemma unless you stood on your head, So the pills could all change directions before you wound up sick in bed.<\/p>\n
What would happen if time released capsules forgot to do the right thing And released all their pellets at once. A great upset they would bring. So little pills of every kind, just wend your way thru us and find The ailment that we take you for so we won\u2019t worry anymore!<\/p>\n
Ester Stout, Pioneer Home, Thermopolis, WY<\/p>\n
Quote<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 One thing about getting old is that you can sing in the bathroom while brushing your teeth.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
The Hereafter<\/b><\/p>\n
Our pastor called the other day and told my wife, Helen, that at her age she should start thinking about the hereafter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I do, I do,\u201d Helen told him. \u201cNo matter where I am, I ask myself, \u2018What am I here after?\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Old Smoothies Contest<\/b><\/p>\n
A couple we know recently attended their 60 year high school class reunion. During the evening they were chosen to head a group that would judge the Old Smoothies dance contest. The husband has a hearing problem and his wife has been trying to get him to get a hearing aid. When the contest got down to the last two partners, the wife conferred with the group of judges and then whispered the name of the winners to her husband. He didn\u2019t hear, so she told him again and then yelled, \u201cGet the bananas out of your ears!\u201d The husband immediately seized the microphone and announced the winners: \u201cMr. and Mrs. Bonnanas!\u201d Their name turned out to be Smith. That wasn\u2019t bad enough–then the wife explained to the Smiths that they had won because they did such a great job of executing all those dips.<\/p>\n
\u201cDips? What dips?\u201d said Mr. Smith. \u201cWe were just trying to hold each other up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bits and Pieces, April, 1991<\/p>\n
Aging<\/b><\/p>\n
Shall we sit idly down and say, The night hath come; it is no longer day? The night hath not yet come; we are not quite Cut off from labor by the failing light; Something remains for us to do or dare; Even the oldest tree some fruit may bear.<\/p>\n
– Henry W. Longfellow<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Oliver Wendell Holmes<\/b><\/p>\n
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was and still is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding justices in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was known as the Great Dissenter because he disagreed with the other judges so much. Holmes sat on the Supreme Court until he was 91. Two years later, President Roosevelt visited him and found him reading Plato.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d FDR asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo improve my mind,\u201d Holmes answered.<\/p>\n
Bits and Pieces, December 13, 1990<\/p>\n
Jesus Loves Me<\/b><\/p>\n
Jesus loves me, this I know, Though my hair is white as snow; Though my sight is growing dim, Still He bids me trust in Him.<\/p>\n
Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.<\/p>\n
Though my steps are, oh, so slow With my hand in His I\u2019ll go On through life; let come what may, He\u2019ll be there to lead the way.<\/p>\n
When the nights are dark and long, In my heart He puts a song, Telling me in words so clear, \u201cHave no fear for I am near.\u201d<\/p>\n
When my work on earth is done And life\u2019s victories \u2018been won He will take me home above To the fullness of His love.<\/p>\n
C.D. Frey, Tennessee, in The Bible Friend<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Nothing the Matter With Me<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing whatever the matter with me; I\u2019m just as healthy as I can be. I have arthritis in both of my knees; And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze. My pulse is weak, and my blood is thin, But I\u2019m awfully well for the shape I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n
Arch supports I have for my feet, Or I wouldn\u2019t be able to walk on the street. Sleep is denied me night after night, And every morning I look a sight. My memory is failing; my head\u2019s in a spin. But I\u2019m awfully well for the shape I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n
The moral is, as this tale we unfold, That for you and me who are growing old, It is better to say, \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d with a grin, Than to let them know the shape we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
My Youth is Spent<\/b><\/p>\n
How do I know my youth is all spent? Well, my get up and go has got up and went. But in spite of it all–I\u2019m able to grin When I think of where my get up has been.<\/p>\n
Old age is golden, so I\u2019ve heard it said, But sometimes I wonder as I get into bed– With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup, My eyes on the table until I wake up\u2014<\/p>\n
Ere sleep dims my eyes I say to myself, Is there anything else I should have laid on the shelf? I\u2019m happy to say as I close my door My friends are the same–only perhaps even more<\/p>\n
When I was young, my slippers were red; I could kick up my heels right over my head. When I grew older my slippers were blue But still I could dance the whole night through.<\/p>\n
Now I am old–my slippers are black– I walk to the store and puff my way back. The reason I know my youth is all spent My get up and go has got up and went!<\/p>\n
But I really don\u2019t mind, when I think with a grin Of all the grand places my get up has been. Since I\u2019ve retired from life\u2019s competition I busy myself with complete repetition.<\/p>\n
I get up each morning, dust off my wits, Pick up the paper and read the \u201cO-bits\u201d; If my name is missing, I know I\u2019m not dead, So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed!!<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grandma and Grandpa After Christmas vacation, a teacher asked her small pupils to write an account of how they spent their holidays. One youngster wrote about a visit to his grandparents in a life-care community for retired folks: \u201cWe always spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa,\u201d he said. They used to live here in a … Continue reading “Old Age”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}