vital & green

As I move further into my senior adulthood, I realize & understand that many seniors fear being put on the shelf & forgotten, or even worse, just tolerated as dinosaurs.

Psalm 92:14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
   they will remain vital & green.


I was reading Psalm 93 this morning & checked to see if there were any notes on it. (I have a Life Application Bible) My eye caught the note about vs 14 of Psalm 92. here's what it said...


"Honoring God is not limited to young people who seem to have unlimited strength & energy. Even in old age, devoted believers can produce spiritual fruit.

"There are many faithful older people who continue to have a fresh outlook & can teach us from a lifetime of experience of serving God.

"Seek out an elderly friend or relative who can tell you about his or her experiences with the Lord & challenge you to new heights of spiritual growth."


As I move further into my senior adulthood, I realize & understand that many seniors fear being put on the shelf & forgotten, or even worse, just tolerated as dinosaurs.

At the same time, I also see that many seniors retire from life. They've "done their stint" & now it's time for someone else to make they world happen. They quit engaging the world around them, do only things they want to do, have to plan or focus, play with their grandkids, & fritter away the rest of their lives.

I don't see that model supported by scripture.

All of my life, especially when I was young, I've wished & hoped for older people in my life that I could seek out & talk to who could help with my life from the experiences of their own lives.

At the same time, let me hasten to say, I wouldn't give a plug nickel for some old fart always telling me what to do.

As I move into full-blown senior adulthood, I would prefer to be the 1st kind of senior adult, not the 2nd.


for those of you who are in your 50's & older...

There are SO many people all around us who need someone to listen to them. People our age & older have a ripe opportunity to say to people (if nothing else) "don't do that - I did that, & I got into a LOT of trouble" or "that sounds good - that always worked for me".

Get up off your butts & engage these folks. We had people like that in our lives as we came along. Do the same for the jagillions of folks who need people like us to just listen to them, if nothing else. Trust me, none of us will have to look far or for very long to find them.

And cut them some slack - just because you meet some that are uber-obnoxious doesn't mean you should give up. Obnoxious has nothing to do with being young - it's a transgenerational affliction. ;-)


for those of you who are younger than your 50's...

Seek out these people in there 50's & older. They really do have something to share. And you don't have to do what they say. They're just expressing their opinions. Ya never know, they might actually have something worth hearing.

And cut them some slack - just because you meet some that are uber-obnoxious doesn't mean you should give up. Obnoxious has nothing to do with being older - it's a transgenerational affliction. ;-)