“Gone, they tell me, is youth. Gone is the strength of my life: Nothing remains but decline, Nothing but age and decay. Not so, I’m God’s little child, Only beginning to live; Coming the years of my prime, Coming the strength of my life; Coming the vision of God, Coming my bloom and my power.”

Sometime in our thirties, we realize we can’t do everything we did in our teens and twenties. My sons that age have joked about throwing their back out when they sneezed or turned quickly.

In our forties, suddenly our body chemistry changes. I never had problems with dairy products until I was forty. When I asked my doctor why I suddenly did, he just answered “hormones.” I also became allergic to penicillin and sulfa around that time, though I had taken them for years before.

It seems the older we get, the more we lose physically. Our energy diminishes. Our health may go downhill. Our looks melt into wrinkles and greyness. Our vision and hearing may become problematic. Eventually, we might have to give up car keys. Our decreasing mobility may require walkers or canes.

In some ways, we might feel we’ve lost our identity. Women facing the empty nest and men facing retirement may struggle with who they are and what to do with themselves. We may not be able to participate in the ministries or activities we always used to. 

We might feel the sting of lost influence as younger people think we’re out of touch and seek their peers’ advice and fellowship instead. 

And, if we live long enough, we might lose our homes and end up in a facility. I remember when my mother-in-law moved into assisted living, I was sad that her life was now reduced to one room.

We may lose our privacy and dignity if we can no longer take care of our bathing, dressing, and toileting. And we may lose our memories if we develop dementia.

This all might sound really depressing except for a few factors. 

I heard someone on the radio years ago say that one reason our bodies start falling apart as we age is to make us willing to let loose of them. We have such a strong survival instinct, and we often want to stay for our families. But gradually we admit that heaven looks much better than life here.

God is gracious to make us aware of our mortality in increments. As we face each relinquishment, we’re geared a little more toward eternity.

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