Peaches and Prunes - Pt 3

O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? (Psalm 71:12-19 ESV). In a culture glorifying youth, sports, fitness, and technology it’s easy to feel that as we age, we have nothing significant to give. That’s simply wrong-headed thinking. There are gifts only age and faith bestow. This is part of becoming more “peach-like” in our aging. Paul saw faith handed down from grandmother to mother to her son, Timothy (cf. 2 Timothy 1:4-6). You can be part of that kind of intergenerational chain. In the later stages of life you can give to younger folks the faith-gifts of contentment, moderation, and perspective. Many young people will welcome such gifts. One reason children are naturally drawn to grandparents is they sense a calm and simplicity that is missing in the necessarily hectic lives of their parents. It’s common for us who are older to regret we were too much in a rush when our children were growing up. We were busy pursuing our careers, earning a living, and providing for our families. But as we age, we have a bit more time. This is a time to teach and model moderation. Children and youth are living in a culture today that can only be described as extreme. Entertainment is extreme; sports, diets, technology, movies all go to the extreme. As you are afforded contact with these young people, their experience of less can be satisfying in ways that more never can. Contentment and moderation together lend a faith perspective on what’s worthwhile. Just the other day I did some work on an antler mount that I had given to Logan. I had mounted the antlers and put the cartridge underneath the horns on the plaque. For some reason it had dislodged and was no longer there. He still had it hanging in his room. I decided to replace it with another that I had from last deer season. He came home that day and I pointed out to him that I had replaced it for him. His excitement was very unexpected. He said, “Wow! Now I can use it again!” it was the perfect opportunity to talk with him about how important it was for him to have kept the plaque, even though it was “broken.” And, I got a chance to remind him that it is always OK to ask for help to fix things that we can’t. It was a perspective that I could give to him from my experience of growing older and learning to use what we are given to the fullest. Aging well means we continue to teach, especially those closest to us.