Look at your own family history and you will recall stories of heroism and courage your ancestors displayed. Take time today to go through your keepsake boxes and family albums with pictures of your parents, grandparents and maybe great-grandparents. Then go a step further -- call or visit at least one of them. Depending on their health status, they may not recognize you, but that's okay. Just your words, your smile, the touch of your hand will bring comfort to that person, and God will bless you for doing it because He cares for the elderly.
He says, "And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made , and I will bear ; even I will carry , and will deliver you" (Isaiah 46: 4).
The psalmist prayed, "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth" (Psalm 71: 9) .
In the Bible, not only did care for the elderly, but He used them to carry out His work. Noah was six hundred years when God called him to build the ark. Abraham was a hundred years old when his wife Sarah, ninety, gave birth to their son Isaac. You can read about them here. Anna, an elderly widow, and Simeon waited in the temple until they had seen the baby Messiah and pronounced a blessing on Him. And more can be said of Moses and Caleb and Israel and others.
So today, let us show appreciation to our senior citizens. Let us drink from their fountain of wisdom, let us treat them with gentleness and kindness and not abuse them or cast them aside, but cherish them as your Heavenly Father does.
5 comments:
Oh Angela, I am truly touched and Awed at thi riveting article. Yes, we owe much to the elderly and you nailed it because they are not honored as they should in our society.
I thank God for them ~ those in my life have shaped who I am today. One of the,reasons why I have a different type of a relationships with those in their fifties or older is due to being raised by my grandmother and spending much time with the "Mothers" of the church. I'm grateful for the awesome impact they have made in my life. God bless you!
Oh Angela, I am truly touched and Awed at thi riveting article. Yes, we owe much to the elderly and you nailed it because they are not honored as they should in our society.
I thank God for them ~ those in my life have shaped who I am today. One of the,reasons why I have a different type of a relationships with those in their fifties or older is due to being raised by my grandmother and spending much time with the "Mothers" of the church. I'm grateful for the awesome impact they have made in my life. God bless you!
Angela: As I sat in church today, I noticed a lot of people who are senior citizens--more senior than I. When I think about those who went through the Great Depression and World War 2, I feel humbled that they have so much to offer the younger generation. Someone thought I was a lot younger than I am. Her remark was, "Someone your age. . . . " I had to tell her I was roughly a year behind her. Another friend and I had a discussion about how some people age differently than others. Health issues figured into our conversation. My thought to her was, "We should be thankful we have the health we have."
Thanks, Vernita! I was not blessed to know much about my grandparents. They passed when I was very little, but I grew up with a great love and respect for the elderly from the way my mother treated them. Now that I'm a senior citizen myself, I can appreciate the value of the elderly to society.
Hi Cecelia, We really ought to feel humbled and grateful to our senior citizens, but instead many of them are just cast aside. Health issues are a general topic among the elderly. I think I may write an article on that one of these days. Thanks for stopping by.
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