CELEBRATE WHO YOU ARE

There's no bigger waste of time than comparing yourself to others. Someone will always come out looking better than you look, and that will just make you feel jealous. or someone else will come out looking worse, and that will make you feel prideful and superior. Believe Me, you don't need those bad attitudes. They will smother your joy like sand on a fire. Many older people are afraid. Some fear trying to survive in a world. that's moving too fast. other fear the specter of fading health. Or being alone. Or becoming dependent. "What if . . . " and "I can't. . ." start a lot of their sentences. And the gray drizzle of fear overcasts the present, which is still bright with promise.

God's Attitude toward Aging

So much for the human perspective on growing old. Let's see what has to say about aging, first through a psalm of Moses.

       A Psalm of Moses

Written by a senior citizen named Moses, Psalm90 tells us about an eternal God, who, in fact, lives outside time itself (verse 1-2 ) But unlike God, as Moses points out in the following verses, people have to deal with the temporal reality of aging. 

      

     Thou dost turn man back into dust,

     And dost say, "Return, O children of 

     men."

     For a thousand years in Thy sight

     Are like yesterday when it passes by, 

     Or as a watch in the night,

     Thou hast swept them away like a 

      flood, they fall asleep;

      In the morning they are like grass

      which sprouts anew. 

      In the morning it Flourishes, and 

      sprouts anew;

      Toward evening it fades, and withers

      away. . . for all our days have

      declined in thy fury;

      We have finished our years like sigh,

      As for the days of our life, they 

      contain seventy years, Or if due to 

      strenght, eighty years, 

      Yet their pride is but labor and 

      sorrow; 

      For soon it is gone and we fly away.

      ( verses 3-6, 9-10 )

No wonder some people get discouraged about aging! This psalm sums up our lives on earth-- we sprout, 

we wither, we die. But wait. The value of life isn't measured by the number of our years but by the quality of our days. The secret isn't in how long we live, but how we live. That's why Moses prays for the best use of his life, however long it may last.

      So teach us to number our days,

      That we may present to Thee a heart 

      of wisdom. ( verse 12 )

If we live wisely, we can approach old age with a song instead of sight.

      

       O satisfy us in the morning with Thy 

       lovingkindness,

       That we may sing for joy and be glad 

       all our days. ( v. 14 )

        

       So the principle we derive from

       Psalm 90 is this: Since every day is 

       a gift from God, live each one 

       enthusiatically for Him.

Listen, I made you who you are. You're priceless! I gave you wonderful gifts, and only you can fulfill My plan for you. Just as each snowflake is different, so each person is unique and precious to Me. And just as I created thousands of species of fish and flower in every color of the rainbow, so I created people of all different colors and races. I love variety! Celebrate who you are!  

      Just because our skin wrinkle

       doesn't mean our walk with God 

       has to shrivel up as well. Rather, our  

       faith should increase with age as we 

       look back on all God has done for 

       us and look ahead to the great 

       things. He has yet to accomplish

       through us.

none of us can avoid aging; there is no fountain of youth. But there is is a Fountain of living water. And thank to him

we can drink up all life has to offer-- even in our old age.

Living Insights

Just in case you think we stop making when we get old, take a look at Paul's to Words of Titus. 

     

      Older men are to be temperate, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likeswise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gosssip, nor enslave to much wine teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home that the word of God may not be dishonored

(Titus 2:2-5)

    Because of all the things to be counted, this is the hardest to number our days. We number everything else so easily. We know how much money we have in our purse and how many dollar in the bank. Farmer number their sheep and cattle, Restaurants number meals served in a week. things we fails to account for, we waste. that why it is wise  to ask God to teach us to consider each day separate from the next, distinct in its purpose, unique in the way it is to be lived. And celebrate who you are!