Grace Community Christian Church

 

Archived Things Above

Old Age (10/30/08)

I'm getting old. Or maybe I've been old but it's just now seeping into my aged brain. I am a grandfather. Ouch. There, I said it. And I am married to a grandmother. Double ouch! I knew this day would come, but I figured I had a few more decades until it arrived. You see, I don't feel old. I don't feel like what I thought it would feel like when you become a grandparent. It's like when I became a senior in high school - I was at the top of the educational food chain, but I still felt like a dweeby ninth grader. Socially my status had taken a terrific leap forward, but I couldn't tell by looking in the mirror that morning. Or when I graduated college - there I stood, an educated adult, ready to take on the world. But inside, I was just a scared, clueless little student who now had to live up to everyone's expectations.

Now people call me "gramps" or "old feller". But inside, I'm 22 years old. I weigh 160 pounds. I can run like the wind & have more energy than I could possibly burn off in a day. Well, maybe I wish I still did or could. In reality, when I stand up from driving the school bus every morning, my back hurts. I climb down the steps to exit the bus & I have to hold the handrail because it feels like my knee might give way. And that's not even the knee that had surgery! I stand outside, recuperating from my descent, & wonder, "How did my body get this way?" How is it I can tear up the racquetball court for two hours at night, but the next morning I can barely walk? And what's up with the tingling sensation in my feet?

From what everyone tells me, I'd better get used to it. It's downhill from here. And fast. I already have tri-focal eyeglasses (that should have been a clue!) My hair is substantially whiter. My hearing is causing my wife serious irritability (why do people speak so softly anymore, anyway?!) And the medical tests I've been warned about. Wow, can't wait for those appointments.

My dad used to say the hardest part about getting older was watching your peers drop off one by one. He made it sound like it got a bit lonelier as you got older, & I guess that's true. I haven't lost too many friends my age, but there have been a few, & for sure, the number's going to increase now. Old age used to be so far away - I knew I was safe so long as my grandparents were alive, but then they died. And then my mom died, & one of these days I'll be at the head of the line, & my granddaughter will be looking ahead & thinking, "Man he's old . . ."

Job was convinced that "Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to those who have lived many years." (Job 12:12, NLT) Over the next little while, I'll let you know how that's working for me. Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to figure out what I want this new grandkid to call me. I'm kind of leaning toward Granpa Jim, Sir! Now, that sounds young!


Jim Dewar --