This past Sunday, we celebrated the Sanctity of Human Life. Life is miraculous. It appears. It exists! Our babies and grandbabies take over our worlds with their enormous personalities. Life is phenomenal and personal. It is an endowment from beyond ourselves. We don’t choose life—we only receive it. We are the recipients of its extraordinary moments and terrific struggles. And when life leaves us and our loved ones vanish, we don’t know how to get them back. They exit and are gone forever. What a mystery.
Growing old is just a rung in this incredible ladder. It’s not the end, just a point in time. We don’t stay vital forever, do we? Leather boots crack. Machine parts wear out. And our human powers fade like a summer rose. It’s unstoppable. We can no longer open lids, reach the top shelf, or clean the yard as we used to. Our minds grow fuzzy around the edges. Arthritis cripples our knees or hands. And we feel ourselves traveling further and further from the center of the community.
American culture has not been kind to our seniors. Our advertisements feature the beautiful, the powerful, the sexy, the young, the passionate, the athlete, and the artist. Our heroes are the visual and laudable. We have nearly forgotten about the quiet or commendable, the ordinary, the plain, and the faithful. These people, too, carry God’s stamp of extraordinariness. We are—all of us—the temple and sanctuary of our Holy Father if we choose to be.
God didn’t design a race of superhumans. That was never his intent. What sets us apart is not our talents but that he has chosen us as his children. We are born compatible with our Father and loved by him. We were made in his image. He wants us to know him, share life with him, worship and appreciate him, receive his parental blessings and protections, and surrender to his good leadership. None of these things are lost in our elderly years. Indeed, they may be increased.
As we grow fragile, we begin to recognize how dependent we are on God and our community of relationships. By becoming like children again, we are restored to God’s original design—trusting and dependent on our Father. For some of us, our self-worth is realigned. Maybe we can no longer work for a living or find our usefulness in what we do. That doesn’t make us less human or less loved. Accomplishments may impress people, but relationships touch our Father’s heart. Memories, stories, covenants, and commitments are sacred in God’s economy. Not trophies and medallions.
I love the promise in Isaiah, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you: I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (46:4). God will continue to be everything he has always been to us—faithful—even in our later years.
As we grow older, there are a few things we can do not just to grow old but to grow old gracefully. We can trust in the Lord and not lean into our own understanding or strength. We can choose to celebrate what we have and not complain about what we are losing. We can have compassion for ourselves as our health betrays us or our minds diminish. We can continue to simplify our lives and let go of our material things. We need to stay involved with the younger generations even though we may feel more disconnected than ever. We can become blessers and not criticizers to those family and community members who are in the arena trying to make a difference. We can be memory makers, storytellers, mentors, and volunteers, not just bystanders and retirees. We can accept help from others graciously. And we can pray for God’s kingdom and his purposes to be fully realized in our community and families.
Life is such a gift. Every day is a treasure chest with unique opportunities. God created us to know him and express his love to the people around us. That is true even when our health falters, or our peers pass away. We can make the choice to live in joy and not anxiety and to live in the fullness of God’s love so that we grow old gracefully.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES for Sanctity of Human Life:
Tags: honor, care, support, elderly, respect, maturing, golden years, dementia, boomers, value, compassion, joy, human, life, relationships, failure, gift, seniors, sanctity of human life
