I’ve just been reading Psalm 92 where it says, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing,” (verses 12-14)
Those of us who like gardening, love to watch what they plant, grow from small seedlings to full sized plants and eventually to flower and fruit. It is the same for the Lord, Who has given each of us life….He loves to see His people grow from their first awakening to their need of Him, to maturity in Himself. In this passage here, it says that we are still able to bear fruit in our old age.
There is no need for us to feel that we have been put on the shelf as it were, or that we are past it and now just useless. There is still so much that we can do in spite of our aching bones and useless muscles. The first thing we can all do, is to thank the Lord for what we DO have, that we can still think and pray. So many of our friends and relations have lost this ability, and it is so sad to see them just sitting there, a shadow of what they used to be and not even recognising their loved ones.
Then we can write letters, not only to our old friends, but also to our families, especially to the ones who are living in other countries. For those who can use a computer, it is so easy to write a regular family newsletter, and send it to those on your mailing list. There are so many things to write about, not only what you have been doing or thinking about, but also about how life used to be when you were growing up. Life is so different in this digital age, and it is hard for the modern young ones to imagine life without all the latest gadgets that are available today.
So for all us older ones, let’s think positively about what we CAN do and not about what we can’t. Make sure we flourish in the things of the Lord and pass on what we can while we can. We must remember that …..if we don’t use it, we lose it!!
