A very dear friend of mine emailed the following to me (written by her). I found it to be such a refreshing view at the aging process, I had to share it with all of you:
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Today is my 50th birthday and amidst all the funnies, the AARP subscription, the calculator my husband gave me with the enormous numbers on it, and the numerous senior discount cards my friends have bestowed upon me (all in great fun guys, and yes I am still laughing)................amidst all that fun and frivolity, I have been asked how I feel about being 50, with the implication that I am getting old.........
~~~
Today is my 50th birthday and amidst all the funnies, the AARP subscription, the calculator my husband gave me with the enormous numbers on it, and the numerous senior discount cards my friends have bestowed upon me (all in great fun guys, and yes I am still laughing)................amidst all that fun and frivolity, I have been asked how I feel about being 50, with the implication that I am getting old.........
In all seriousness, I look at aging the same way I look at everything else in my life - from an eternal standpoint. I, like all of you, am NOT aging! There is no such thing. It's ridiculous. We are eternal creatures and will never perish. Every human being will live forever. It's just a matter of where we will live. But, we were created for eternity. We do not age as the world loves to feed into that Great Lie of our times. The only thing that is aging is the vessel in which I reside right now. And so, my answer to how I feel about that is:
BRING IT ON! Because that means I am one day closer to Paradise and a glorified body! Amen. Now, in all honesty, do I like the aging of my body? Of course not. No one does. The wrinkles, sagging, arthritis, etc. No one "likes" that. And it is a difficult thing to see that happening and learn to accept it. Another of those lessons the Master needs us to learn because there are eternal implications in the learning of it.
Every single day of our lives is one more day closer to Paradise. This is the focus and truth I will remain in today and I will not buy into the world's clamor for youth and beauty being physical. I will trust God's economy that who I am will always be youthful and beautiful, because I am His, even as this vessel of mine deteriorates.
Jan M.
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On my fiftieth birthday I'm going to break this out and read it again!
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On my fiftieth birthday I'm going to break this out and read it again!
19 comments:
That's a great attitude. I'm doubting I'll have such a great attitude when I'm 50. At least I'm not planning on it. haha
Mate, bear this in mind ...
We grow wiser at a quicker rate than we grow older.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
I am approaching my 50th birthday and I have noted this, mentally I don't feel any older than I did when I was 20 or 30 or 40. Inside I am still the same.
Sometimes when I wake in the morning parts of me are slower to embrace the day than others. Sometimes when I look in the mirror a wrinkle surprises me. But if we don't count appearances, mostly I am the same person today as I was yesterday and 50 won't change that. Neither will 60. Or 70 ....
This is beautiful and I agree with your friend. If you know you will live forever there's no need to worry about wrinkles which are just the pathways of our life.
I turned 50 last fall and I am having a great time, aches, pains, poor eyesight, knowledge, experience, confidence and all.
I've always said; "There are two ways to grow old- gracefully and otherwise"...
Jan M. gets! Frankly, I feel the same inside as I did when I was 16. I suspect my son and daughter wish I would start maturing.
Amen to that.
As some one who truly believes that Paradise will be restored on earth, I am behind your friend 100% with this!
Great way of seeing things.....thanks for sharing that!
and Hey, I like the new look of the blog!!!
Peace
Sometimes, I can't believe that I am my age, but then I think... Did my mother do all that I do?, Did my grandmother do all that I do? Of course not. Age is a matter of attitude!
As my friend, Christine who is 89 years young would say "I am not old until I say I am old!" You gotta love her!
If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself! LOL
50 passed a few years back and like the rest of them, it did not affect me.
I feel much younger (OK, the back pains aside)...but I know for a fact most people do not think I am my age.
Your friend's attitude is great regarding being one day closer to paradise. I don't even consider that though.
Heck-a-doodle...if you think about the end you forget to enjoy today.
Hey on another not, are you not getting feeds from The Couch. I noticed on your sidebar, I am not updated.
Jan gets it. She is right on the money.
Have a terrific weekend Jeff. :)
You know, there has ALWAYS been a disconnect between how old my soul feels and how old my body feels. Neither of the are in the same realm, and my chronological age is somewhere in between.
I realize this body is a shell and is disposable in the beyond, but once in a while I still care how well this shell is holding up.
That's just beautiful, Jeff. I was nonetheless bummed out the first time a clerk gave me a senior discount on a cup of coffee. I hadn't asked for it.
And thank goodness, it hasn't happened since. Yet.
time has never been linear to me
Jay- A grumpy old man in training?
David- I do hope so.
Quilly- I think you and Jan have much of the same feeling on the subject.
Nessa- That's a great attitude to hold onto.
Buffalo- So we might as well go gracefully then eh?
BJ- She does get it indeed.
Cath- Each day spent here is just one more closer to there. I have to come by and check out the new digs too. Be by later.
Odat- Hello there! Great to hear from you again.
Pam- I think our self talk has a tremendous amount to do with how we approach getting older.
Bond- I actually like to think about both now and the beyond. Don't want to miss anything.
Ya, I put your blog address in my link list, but it isn't registering. Quilly's is doing that too and I don't know why.
Sandee- She sure does.
Songbird- I think she does too, just doesn't let it be an obsession like the media loves to tell us to do.
San- That's gotta be a sober moment.
Dianne- Nor to me.
What a beautifuly written piece...and a beautifully wisened attitude.
Yup. Keep that sucker and pull it out when you turn into an ungrateful snot......(talking to me, not you....LOL)
*hugs*
I can relate to what she wrote. I know for a FACT that I'm only getting better...not older.
YOU, on the other hand, just suck.
Great attitude =)
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