Monday, May 21, 2012

"The Benefits outweigh the hassles!"

     The month of May contains lots of birthdays in our family, one being my own. A friend and I were talking about the whole aging thing and the problems associated with it - one specifically being the ever-increasing pace at which those stubborn gray hairs need covering up.  At times, I think about just letting it all go and becoming the gray haired Grammy that I am inside...and if my hair would turn out to be beautiful silver like Mom's was instead of "gun-barrel blah" I might consider it seriously but the look of the roots isn't promising!
     So wouldn't you know that my Bible devotional reading today was called "Gray Hair". (Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?) The verses are Psalm 71:18-19  "Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your mighty acts to all who are to come. For Your righteousness, God, reaches to the skies, & You have done great things. Who is like you, God? " The writer is facing the fact that if God allows us to live an abundance of years, gray happens. In our culture that strives to look young and pacifies us with "60 is the new 40", we've lost the blessing to be found in aging but its there!
     In Bible times, gray hair was a badge of honor. It denoted a reason to show respect and a person to whom you could go to find wisdom. As God honors our lives with years, He also adds the power of perspective and the ability to look back at His faithfulness through it all. We can recall God's goodness and see more of His purposes as they have unfolded. 
     Does perfection come with gray hair? I wish... but unfortunately no. Sin still plagues us and tries to get us to fall into its trap. Doubts and worries creep in to steal our peace. Loneliness can push us into isolation or offense. The evidence of this is found in the many "cantankerous" old folks living in bitterness and regret. No, mounting years by themselves don't guarantee freedom from these things, but as Christians we can escape the bitterness of heart that so often occurs. We know that God is always our answer. We have experienced the various storms of life and come through them successfully. The waves that used to threaten to sink us, that seemed so insurmountable, are not so scary now and often become ripples that we gently float over. 
     So God allows us to live year after year not only for our benefit but for others. The second half of today's verses are a plea that God would allow us to use our lives as witnesses to pass on what we have learned. We become His "Exhibit A" as our lives show His steadfast love and amazing mercy. We can share the wonder of His salvation, first with our families and then with the others He brings to us. We can tell others about His marvelous works, His miracles, & our blessings. We can pass on the lessons we've learned as we wrestled with Him in prayer or sought His sweet forgiveness after our failures. We can say "Been there, done that...and God helped me make it through it all!" 2 Cor. 1:3-4
     So while I'm not quite ready to abandon the color aisle, I hope that I am always a testimony of God's faithfulness, declaring to the next generations all that God has done in and for me, and that I can be an encourager, a mentor, to those coming along behind me! That will be a blessing that even the hassles of "the new 40" can't diminish!

  

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