The Strength Of Old Age

The Strength Of Old Age

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. Psalm 39:4-5

Marty showed up for his checkup with a paradoxical set of complaints: “It seems like the harder I work at trying to stay healthy, the more I fall apart.”

I had heard similar stories from patients before, and I asked him to explain what he meant.

“At sixty, there seems to be a diminishing return to my efforts,” he said. “I go for a run, and my feet ache for two weeks. I lift weights, and my shoulders lock up. I think I’m doing all the right things, but I just end up injuring myself.”

Marty had always been healthy. He ate well and exercised regularly, but over the past few years, his activity and his age seemed to be catching up with him.

“It does seem as if all your healthy living is working against you, not for you,” I said. “But not all of us are made for the Olympics. Even world-class athletes age out of their ability to perform the amazing physical feats they once did.”

When my patients face their own mortality or their growing inability to do what once came easily, I remind them that God has a plan for each of us to live a predetermined number of days and not a day beyond. When we were younger, our bodies healed faster, recovered from exercise better, and burned more calories. As we age and adopt a slower pace, we don’t see the same gains and achievements we once did. With each decade, we have to adjust our diet and exercise to fit our aging bodies. As I remind my patients, it was the slow and steady tortoise who ultimately finished the race.

TODAY’S RX

Boast not in your own physical strength; boast in God, who is the strength of your life.

Though I’m not capable of doing what I once was, God, help me to be grateful for each day you’ve given me. Show me where my new strengths lie as I get older, and allow me to use my gifts for your glory.