Age, a Blessing

If you are worried or disappointed about aging, you've got the wrong idea of what it is. 

Last week, I overheard a man in his upper-seventies/early-eighties say to another similarly-aged person. "Age is a blessing from God..."

He went on, but I was done. When the event we were at was over, I went over to him and thanked him for his perspective on age.

I'm all-too-tired of hearing people lament about getting older. I'm exhausted of listening to people sigh when they talk about how old they are—wishing they were younger. I'm, quite honestly, sick of it.

The Bible says that "gray hair is a crown of glory." (Proverbs 16:31) "...gray hair the splendor of the old.” (Proverbs 20:29) “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:32)

Glory. Splendor. Honor. Who talks about age like that? Age—according to the Bible—sounds powerful, dreamy, and worth desiring with fervor. 

Yet, how common is it to hear someone scoff at their age, not wanting to "admit" it, or treat being older as a joke-able offense?

If people understood that life is a gift, maybe they wouldn't get so bogged down about growing old—believing the challenges of age to be inferior to those of youth. And just maybe, they'd joyfully rise out of bed each day; whether speedily or quite slowly.

And the humility that would, invariably, accompany that attitude would probably allow us understand how much we have to learn from our elders: on how to be more joyful, more thankful, and more effective at living our lives exceptionally for the benefit of others. The list of what they can teach us (and what anyone can teach to those younger than themselves) goes on and on. Because age refines character, over and over again.

And if this is all truly what aging is like, sign me up.