None of Us Want to Grow Old?

None of Us Want to Grow Old?

“Dr. Bernard Nash is a social worker who’s considered a pioneer in the study of aging. He points out the paradox that we all want to live longer . . . but none of us wants to grow old! And that’s true today.” This quote was from Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ blog post about her upcoming 60th birthday. We may have been born on the same day!

Unlike the quote, I am thankful to be growing old. I could have easily died when I was 45 years old and my sodium level was 110 instead of 137-147. This has happened several more times since then. They consider 110 sodium level “death level.” I have also survived two brain surgeries. Last May, I had a bad reaction to my thyroid drug and my blood pressure was up to 222/110 at one point which is stroke level. Yes, I am thankful to be alive at 60 years old. Perspective is everything!

I turn 60 years old today. Each day is a gift. Overall, I have felt better the past few years than I have in the 30 years prior. I never thought I would feel good again but I have some very good days. It’s fun to be able to enjoy life and be able to work hard and serve others.

I followed Jeremiah’s Thomas’ struggle for life on Facebook. He was only 16 years old and died of cancer a few days ago. He loved God, preached the Gospel, and fought hard against abortion. He had a bright future ahead of him but God used his illness for good. Many thousands have heard the Gospel and learned the value of the unborn while watching his fight for life. His life was short but it was used for the glory of God. Jeremiah would have loved to grow old.

My mom passed away a few weeks ago. She lived a long and good life. She never had to see a spouse, child, grandchild, or great grandchild die. Yes, she saw me through my sufferings and it pained her but she never had to experience an untimely death of one she loved. She was blessed, yet she definitely had her struggles and sufferings but she never complained about growing older since she knew this was a part of life and all of life was a gift.

If you are growing old, be thankful. If you are getting wrinkles and gray hair, be thankful. Our culture worships youth but I sure don’t. Wisdom and experience are priceless things we can learn from growing old. I don’t mind my gray hair and wrinkles. I am happy to have them! I am happy to be growing old with the husband of my youth who still finds me attractive! I am happy to have children in their 30s and being called a grandma. All of these are huge blessings to me.

God is good and His ways are good. I don’t know what His future plans are for me but I do know that they are good even if they include suffering and sorrow. Sufferings and sorrows remind us that this isn’t our home and a new heaven and a new earth are awaiting us. This life is a blip on the scene of eternity. Enjoy each day and understand that it is a gift not to be wasted with frivolous things like seeking pleasures but living it to glorify God. I am thankful to be growing old!

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
Job 12:12

49 thoughts on “None of Us Want to Grow Old?

  1. Excellent my gorgeous doll! There is no one I would rather be growing old with than you. You have truly become the love of my life and I love your life in mine and your wonderful ministry trying to share how to have true love and intimacy doing marriage and family God’s ways! Happy Birthday! And may the God give us many more birthdays together as He continues to heal you and keeps you and me strong in the Lord.

  2. Happy birthday Lori. Thank you for all your hard work in ministry to women in our God given roles.
    You are such a blessing to so many.

    I will be 63 on the 27th of this month. I’ve been blessed to be married to the most patient man in the world for 42 years

  3. Happy birthday, dear Lori. I read your posts every day and I have learned so much from your ministry.

  4. Oh, Ken. That’s so beautiful! I was reminded of this….
    Proverbs 31:28
    Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    Her husband also, and he praises her

    Sweet Lori
    Happy Birthday!! Thank you for all you do. Thank you for your faithfulness and for speaking Truth, not just into my life, but into many. My life, my marriage, has literally been restored and transformed. I thank the Lord for you and your ministry.
    I turn 48 this year. I embrace who I am today. My grey hair. My wrinkles. My aging, knowing that they are a blessing. I am growing old with my husband – the love of my youth – and it’s wonderful!!
    Blessing, Love and big hugs from Australia, Lori. Enjoy your day!!
    Liliane xxxxx

  5. Wise words, Lori, especially about not worshiping youth {as the world does} and not wasting life on frivolous things like seeking pleasures. Only what we do for Jesus Christ will ultimately last.

    Happy birthday! 🙂

  6. Happy 60th birthday! My mom turned 60 this past year too! Aging is demonized in our current society, and ageism is rampant! We are more apt to dismiss and condescend older people, rather than appreciate the vast life experience they have and the wisdom they can share with us. Or at least treat them as fellow humans, and not some sterile”old geezer” stereotype! I grew up around my grandmother and older middle aged adults all throughout my youth including my parents, aunts and uncles. Unlike many families, there aren’t many young people and kids running around in mine, so I didn’t have anyone my age to hang with as a child and teenager. I think many youth who do have a ton of relatives their age can get stuck in their own little bubble, and not learn to relate to people outside their age group. From this unique perspective of relating to older adults all my life, I can say they are the people I love, respect, admire and are my role models! They are fully multidimensional people, not “old geezers”, and aren’t old curmudgeons either! They’re lively, spirited and have embraced me with love and respect in return despite our generation gap 🙂 I wish more young people would open their hearts and minds to the wisdom, guidance and mentorship from older people! I feel when we age, we are lucky to have lived so long as we have. So many don’t even make it to 50! To make it to 70, 80, 90 etc… is an amazing gift! https://aladyofreason.wordpress.com/

  7. Many birthday blessings to you Lori (my vT2)! Your are loved from the East coast! I do pray the Lord keep you strong to continue your journey in strengthening women in their proper roles! Growing old in the Lord I see as a treasure for us younger women to look forward to as we follow behind you precious Godly women! I love how your husband loves you and you love him – brings me tears of great joy and encouragement to my marriage! Love to you and yours dear lady! Psalm 92:12-15

  8. Happy belated birthday, Lori! Thank you for being a blessing to younger women! I enjoyed reading this post, it gave me a new perspective on growing older and enjoying life unto the Lord.?

  9. Happy, Happy Birthday Lori Congratulations on turning 60!?I think that when we have almost lost our lives to sickness (mine was Advanced Heart Failure – due to a bad flu virus 7year’s ago) we appreciate growing old more because we realise how blessed we are to be able to grow old.
    I pray you and yours are all well.
    Jilly???

  10. Happy Birthday, Lori, and I wish you continued good health and happiness. I love that Ken called you “gorgeous doll” in his comment!

    My mom has a plaque in her kitchen that reads “Never complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.” It is a very sobering reminder to avoid complaining about the inconveniences that come with growing older. I’m with you; I don’t mind the grey hair and wrinkles! I wouldn’t want to go through my teens and 20s and again. They were tumultuous and unhappy times. Life is better now with wisdom and perspective!

  11. Happy Birthday, Lori! You have been such a blessing and encouragement to me, and many, many others too, I know. I hope you have a wonderful year! With love, Rose

  12. Emily, the first time I saw that saying was at a train station in Paso Robles,CA and it is a very sobering reminder.

  13. Happy belated birthday!!! I appreciate this perspective so much. I have struggled with the aging appearance of my face and wishing I still looked young. Plus the 50’s are a great decade but I see life running out from here much faster than I know how to process. But you are right. I am grateful for every day. Thank you for showing me a different way to look at it.

  14. Oh, thank you so much, Liliane! Your sweet words are such an encouragement to me. Yes, it’s a blessing to be growing older with one man. God’s ways are so good!

  15. Thank you, Kim, for your words that are such a blessing to me! I love teaching women biblical womanhood because I have tasted of it and know how great it is. Love to you, too!

  16. You’re welcome, Sheila! Every day is a gift from the Lord and to be used for His glory, plus where we are going is SO much better than this world has to offer.

  17. happy birthday to you. hope your day is special. it truly is a privilege to grow old. however, I have observed older people who become consumed and dependent on so many drugs that the side effects render them senile/immobile. then they refuse to take responsibility for themselves and their health, they just want their kids to cater to their every whim and the taxpayers to pay for all their doctors/drugs. it can be a joy to get older, but how do we address the problems caused by our American medical establishment keeping people alive past any type of quality of life?

  18. It is a problem, Mary. Many older people take a handful of pills every day to stay alive. Yes, I have to take hormone replacement and always will but I sure don’t plan on taking a handful of drugs every night to live longer, that’s for sure!

  19. It is one thing to be young and talk about growing old, it is another thing to have been young and now be old. I will be 73 next month, I have witnessed the death of a 6 month old infant, been a caregiver of a disabled husband and experienced his recent death. Our 50th anniversary would have been this month. I have felt and been frustrated at the physical decline that comes with age. How are we to respond to aging and the loss that come with it? Do we turn to the Lord or do we become bitter railing against the unfairness of loss? Those who age gracefully are those who draw their strength from the Lord, who allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, who hunger and thirst to know Him more. Who seek Him. It is His peace that sustains us in the hard times, threw the frustration of physical loss, through the pain of the death of loved ones. It is not something to be glibly talked about, it is something to be experienced.

    For those who are younger than I, befriend someone in their 70’s, 80’s, or older that radiates the Lords peace, talk to us, learn our story, listen and learn of our struggles, strengths and weaknesses. We can learn much from each other as well as encourage each other in our walk with the Lord.

  20. Growing old is a privilege that not all have. And it is not for sissy’s. Growing old takes courage and inner strength. Aging gracefully comes as we walk in close fellowship with the Lord, as we take our sorrows and losses to Him. Yes while it is a joy to get older it is also a challenge. It is difficult to no longer be able to chase the grands around the yard, to figure out elder friendly ways to garden, to need support hose or rely on certain medications to stay alive.

    Staying healthy depends on paying attention to taking care of our mental and physical needs. For me personally that means realizing that as much as I don’t like taking medication that not doing so will be detrimental to my physical health in the same way that not leaning on the Lord will be detrimental to my spiritual health.

    I need to say this: to the comment of “taxpayers to pay for all their doctors/drugs” that if that is referring to medicare or social security benefits that these are not entitlements but programs that were paid into for decades by everyone of us to be used by us in our later years. We did not have a choice it came out of our paychecks without our consent.

    Yes while some are kept alive past any quality of life that is why it is important to have a medical directive written up. After age 70 there is a definite trend in the medical field to not treat. I experienced that with my mother as well as my brother in law.

  21. At almost 73 I have things I want to do, places I want to go, people I want to see. My mind still works, my body still moves by Gods grace I am still in the game. And if it takes living on medication for diabetes, for Afib, for high blood pressure and a few other things to keep me going and increase my quality of life so be it. I am not ready to curl up, give up and die.

  22. Agreed heartily, Mary! I am, too, thankful for many advances in medical care that have given me time to live longer and feel better. We certainly aren’t against this!

  23. Wow! I haven’t seen that at all. I have a friend whose mother is in her late 80s and just had shoulder surgery and another man who is 88 is going in for knee surgery. It seems they treat people as long as they want to be treated. I guess it depends in what country you live.

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