GRACE for THE AGING, THE OLDER, and THE OUTRIGHT OLD

If we aren't careful, the older we get, the bigger and more commanding the rear-view mirror becomes, when what lies ahead is the greatest. The familiarity of the past, even if partially, unevenly, or inaccurately remembered, can become now's inappropriate anchor. It can even seduce one into parking there. If we are not careful, the call upon us for today, and the possibilities for tomorrow can be surrendered, for the comfort [as well the aches] of what once was. Should any other, than GRACE, be our commanding view, then we proceed as blind. Pray that the Grace of God fills our then, now, and yet gaze. Amen.

BELIEVE upon the promises and the imperatives within THE WORD. "...Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

PRAY in the Spirit, having God the Spirit be the captain of our understanding, the interpreter of all experiences, and the key negotiator with our soul and navigator of our fate. "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it, with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

Then LET FAITH BEHAVE, seeing Jesus, becoming more and more like Him, having all sympathies and thinking being grace-driven, and all doing consistently grounded upon our costly redemption in Christ. Repent. "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who are dwelling on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)" Let love and righteousness be without shame, Jesus showing the same, the reason He came... that we might be godly, boasting His name. Yes, Jesus saves... and ... Nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.( Romans 8:39)"
 
Sometimes I see my mother, age 100 years, with surprisingly energized praise. And sometimes I see her retiring before her High School yearbook, Douglass S.H. Class of '42, in disbelief over the many now 'gone,' going over photo albums of family reunions, weddings, and various other snapshots revealing friends and family 'gone', even her husband [my dad] whose name is variably remembered. I admire her remembrance of 'The Lord's Prayer' and Psalm 23, as well as some hymns popular within the legacy of her church, where she is seniormost. She sometimes tearfully misses being and doing there. She enjoys reading her 'Daily Bread' and due to dementia forgets she's read it, and does so again, as if it were the first time. What a thing to receive good news repeatedly, as if for the first time. That has probably been the major advantage to having dementia, along with forgetting many of life's past troubles. All things considered she still, at 100, wants everything done to be kept alive, a concerning decision. Pray for 'Gladys' and for Debora and I. The rear-view mirror can be powerful. Let us fill its view with Christ, all to the glory of God.

PRAYER: Heavenly and Eternal Father, for the grace which brings these years, even these minutes, I offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and with prayerful hope ask for Your help that I might take daily opportunity with small steps of obedience, that the influence of such as enabled by Your Spirit might be fruitful upon the living and the eternal well-being of someone else. No matter the age, or the pull of the season experienced, or the circumstances, there is sufficient grace in Christ Jesus, Lord. Amen. To the Lord who is everlasting, ever-loving, unchanging, sovereign, and near - Amen. To the One who can bring all things to perfection, bringing beauty to the common - Amen, Jesus, Keeper of my soul. Hallelujah!
By Dea. McNeal Brockington