October 6, 2005
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I began a topical Word study this morning on what the Bible has to say about getting OLD and aging. The media and all it’s hype about staying young and not showing signs of aging has effected many godly women in our generation. I have known Christian women who have paid money to have the lines taken away from under their eyes. I’ve known many Christian women who have had breast implants (I’m serious!). I can see the temptation, especially if a person watches any television or reads secular magazines. The ‘youth idol’ is everywhere. Those who belong to the Lord must saturate themselves in God’s Word in order to not take on the pattern of this world.
Yesterday, I stopped by Sister Ellis’s home to pick up some items. I think I must have shared about her before. She is 83 years old and is still working for the Lord. A group of women come to her home on Friday’s to quilt. They give the quilts to the homeless and many have been sent to Mexico on mission trips and to Romania. There she was as I entered her home… in her favorite place… behind the quilting machine with her dear friend Dolores across from her. They were quilting for the Lord! There are two homeless shelters for women nearby that need blankets for the winter. She also showed me the curtains she had collected for their windows.
I smile every time I think of that picture. I can not count how many times I have walked into this godly woman’s home to see her standing behind her quilting machine, doing work for the Lord. She has told her children that as long as she has strength she will continue working for the Lord. She is truly my living example of the older woman in Titus 2.
This to me is what growing old is all about. Not about having a flawless face that looks 20 years younger… or having breasts that don’t sag ….. but that our age will serve our God in service to Him. The focus is on others and off of self and how we look to others. Wisdom comes with old age if a woman has sought after it with all her heart! Her final years should be spent, as all her years, in using all the Lord has given her to serve Him and spread His Word to those who are heading to an eternity in Hell.
I’ve collected 2 pages of Scriptures on aging… not single spaced… and there are still more that I didn’t have time to record this morning. Here are my favorites from today’s study.
Isa 46:4 – Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
{{ In our old age and gray hairs, God has given us His promise He will:
CARRY us! SUSTAIN us! RESCUE us! Praise be to His name!!! }}
Ps 48:14 – For such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.
Comments (4)
Georgene,
What a lovely lady to know! Working for the Lord till the end comes. How many of us can say that? I am older than you so I do worry about old age. Not particularly what I look like because I have truly aged well. It’s not conceit that says that, just good genes, I guess. I realilze I am blessed in that area. What impresses me most about getting older is women who embrace their age and dress accordingly and realize they can be an example to the younger. I look at the older women in church and learn from them. I pray that I get older I can be a good example to not only my family but other women who need a mentor.
I told my husband I would like to let my grey hair be like that and stop coloring it but he didn’t think that was such a good idea. It is long and I would have to get a burr haircut to do it! My hair grows very fast, however, because I take tons of vitamins.
When you begin to realize your time is getting shorter, you depend and trust all the more in the Lord.
God bless you,
Faye
Yes, age has a way of ‘numbering your days’ which is a good thing! How do the older women dress in your church?
You asked about Lanie’s Letters, yes I do read them. She’s very inspiring. It’s hard to find good role models today so I’m glad to here about your friend. We all can draw close to God and then He will bring the fruit. We each have different strengths. I’ve learned not to compare myself to others, but to hopefully let God bring out what He placed in me.
Granny!
Amen! There have been times I have tried to do what a friend was doing that brought fruit. Scripture should be our only guide! You are so right. I can look at my friend and say that she is following Scripture by helping to clothe the naked and take care of the needy and the orphans and the widows. She is teaching the younger women. These are truths that we can build our life on. What are some of your gifts, Granny!