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Give Us This Day Our Daily Meds
John Newton, 18th century pastor and author of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace,” wrote these words in a letter: “Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise Physician prescribes ...”
Getting old is certainly a trial, but I’ve never considered it a “medicine.” Maybe young and old alike need to look at old age in this new way.
I clean apartments for the elderly in an assisted living facility. I enjoy the rhythm of keeping house and making my elderly friends’ day a little brighter.
“Don’t get old!” a resident once told me as I tidied up her room. “It ain’t worth it.” It was not the first time I had heard such a despairing note. Now in midlife, as I watch for the specter of old age to appear, will I catch myself saying “It ain’t worth it”? I hope not.
That is not to minimize the physical pain and sense of loss that old age can bring. I have not yet been separated from a world of living independently, or experienced the indignity of the loss of youth. My elder friends understand this ignorance. I have seen a sad remoteness in many of their faces. They know how it feels to be patronized, disbelieved, or rejected. I must do what I can to assure my elderly friends that the issues they encounter in aging really do matter, and I care.
In spite of the realities of aging, I want to grab hold of the truth that a life trapped in an old body is not a life lived in vain. I hope to emulate some of the most upbeat, positive people I know who live where I work. Their physical limitations are overcome by their own unwillingness to forgo what they cannot do, and celebrate what they can.
For example, I clean for a fellow who goes to work for a small company he bought in the 1950’s. He puts in a couple of hours each day, Monday through Friday. He is losing his eyesight, but he is always smiling and ready to share a hug. He recently turned 100 years old. His trials have not poisoned his outlook on life, but have enhanced his gracious character, making him an example for the rest of us to follow.
I would like to tell all the wonderful geriatric company I keep: You are important, and invaluable. We need your example! Resist the temptation to think you are useless, or better off dead. You have gifts to share you may not even be aware of, and we have been blessed because of you.
You remind us to “number our days.” You encourage us to take time for what matters most, before what matters most is all out of time. You remind us to spend less time fretting over what is soon to pass away, and to take more time tending to what is of eternal value—our eternal souls. I would guess you never stopped to consider how important you really are! A life without you, my elderly friend, would be an awful place.
The book of Job says “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.” Show us how to grow old gracefully. We learn from you when our world seems dark and cold. In many ways you make our lives better and not burdensome, so that your trial of getting old becomes our good medicine.
John Newton believed trials were from a wise Physician. He went on to say “Let us trust in His skill and thank Him for His prescription.” That is good medicine!
Toni M. Babcock is a freelance Christian writer from South St. Paul, Minnesota. She enjoys writing short stories, poems and essays that inspire faith in Jesus. As a former student of the Institute of Children’s Literature, she takes a special interest in writing short stories for kids, sometimes using her own grandkids as characters! |
