Encouragement

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On July 20th, I'll be 80 yrs. of age.
It doesn't seem like it, yet there are times when I DO feel my age....like last night.

I call La Moyne 'My Doctor' when she puts drops in my right eye for the glaucoma.
Then as she massages my foot, I call her 'My Nurse'.
(We'll find out tomorrow @ the foot Dr. if it's a stone bruise....or just what's wrong)

The poison ivy I've had for a week now has both 'My Doctor and My Nurse' stymied.
La Moyne's sister, Jamie, brought me some Poison Ivy Soap which seems to have helped today...for which I am MOST thankful.

I KNOW better than to wear short sleeves when I work in the yard.....but I did.
(You may have 'been there' and 'done that' also)

I keep telling La Moyne that I married a young wife so that she could take care of me in my old age. La Moyne (with her own limitations) laughingly says...
"That's not quite working out, is it?"

Many times I've told her that "Maybe together, we can make a whole person now".....
especially when it comes to remembering people's names!

I'm sure that you've heard these statements:
"A person has to be strong to face growing old" (esp. when you try to do it gracefully)

"They're called 'The Golden Years' because of how much it costs, as the body begins to wear out."

It seems that the 'aides' that become necessary (hearing aides, walkers, canes, glasses) are costly. But we remind ourselves that at least we live in a land where those things are even available! So, we TRY to focus on what we have left...not on what we have lost.

A month after we posted our first article back on October 22, 2004, I wrote about how 'Humor Helps With Aging'.
I'd like to share some from that paper, plus some new thoughts.

Dennis De Haan wrote this in Daily Bread:
'Abraham Lincoln faced enormous pressures as President during the U.S. Civil War.
Without humor, it's doubtful that he would've been able to bear the stress and strain.
When emotions ran high in cabinet meetings, he often told a funny story to break the tension. Laughing at himself kept him from becoming 'defensive'.
A good story with a strong point would sometimes win over an opponent."

1) Here is the last paragraph of a poem by Harold Krebs:
"I get up each morning and dust off my wits,
I pick up the paper and read the obits.
If my name is missing, then I know I'm not dead,
so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed."

2) How to know that you're getting older:
~ You feel like the night before...but you've not been anywhere ~
~ Your little black book only contains names, ending in M.D. ~
~ You get 'winded' playing chess ~
~ Your mind makes contracts that your body can't keep/meet ~
~ Your knees buckle....and your belt won't ~
~ Dialing long distance wears you out ~
~ You've got too much room in the house...but not enough room in the medicine cabinet ~

3) Here are a few 'goodies' from La Moyne's cousin, Max Harris:

A reporter interviewing a 104 yr. old lady said....
"And what do you think is the best thing about being 104 yrs of age?"
She simply replied, "No peer pressure!"

~ "It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffee maker."

~ "Don't let 'aging' get you down....it's too hard to get back up!"

~ "Remember: you don't stop laughing because you grow old...
you grow old because you stop laughing!"

~ The Senility Prayer:
"Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones that I DO recognize.....
and the eyesight to tell the difference!"

Some of Will Rogers' humorous comments:
~ "Eventually you'll reach a point when you stop lying about your age...
and start bragging about it."

~ "The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for."

~ "When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra!"

~ "I don't know how I got over the hill....without getting to the top!"

~ "One of the many things no one tells you about aging is....
that it is such a nice change from being young!"

~ "Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable"

~ "Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called 'witchcraft'.
Today, it's called golf"

~ "If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at...
when you're old".

Our eldest son, Craig, stopped by this morning and as I was sharing with him about today's article and it's title, 'Humor helps with Aging', he said, "Or...you could also say, 'Aging helps with Humor'.

CONCLUSION:
Remember, Jesus used humor to teach!
In fact, I have a book entitled, "The Humor of Christ" by Elton Trueblood.

'When God makes you holy, He gives you a sense of humor'

'A smile adds to your Faith Value'

"Happiness is not so much dependent on age, as it is agreeing with the Promises of God."

"You don't retire....you just re-tread and keep on going....in the strength of the Lord."

"Give us a sense of humor, Lord...
Give us the grace to laugh and smile.
But check our lips from needless jest....
That what we speak, may be worthwhile."
(Anonymous)

Isaiah 41:10 is a Promise of Strength...for ANY age:
'Fear thou not, for I am with thee...be not dismayed, for I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee.
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness"

Proverbs 20:29:
"The glory of the young men is their strength and the beauty of old men is their grey head".

THIS IS OUR PRAYER:
"Now also when I am old and grey-headed, O God forsake me not...
until I have showed Thy strength unto this generation...and those who are to come."
Psalms 70:18:

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