Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. Isaiah 46:4
The passing of the decades has taught me there is truth to the expression that old age is “ten years older than whatever age I happen to be.” Even so, the years do have the ability to creep up on us, and if God grants us the time, the day will come when we can’t do for ourselves all we would like to do.
On a regular basis, I get letters from people whose parents are in a nursing home or in assisted living. The letters almost always read like this, “My parents and I have always listened to The Lutheran Hour. But now, with my mother and father not able to get around, The Lutheran Hour has become “church” for them. Of course, we are thankful for a pastor who visits them, and brings them Communion, but the weekly Lutheran Hour message is a great blessing.” Speaking for everyone at The Lutheran Hour, it is a joy to be of assistance.
Sometimes, (although they may not want it) the elderly do need some special help. That point was brought home last week by a 75-year-old lady in Japan who was caught in an earthquake. With two-broken ribs and a cut foot, her family had to bring her meals and take her to an outside washroom. Since she was sleeping on a hardwood floor, it was necessary for a doctor to stop by and give her pain pills.
Painfully, and speaking for all the elderly, she mused, “The earthquake hurt a lot of old people because we couldn’t move fast enough to escape.” Indeed, all ten of the people killed were older than 65. In 2004, when another earthquake hit Japan, two-thirds of the people who died were seniors.
Statistics say that a natural catastrophe might only be the beginning of the difficulties for seniors. Official records report that one-third of the people who died after the 2004 earthquake succumbed to the stress that came from being transplanted to the strange life of a shelter.
Because the Lord knows our needs, He wants His seniors to know that He hasn’t forgotten them. Although life can be difficult at any age, Isaiah assures God’s people that the Lord who has made us will continue to carry us when we are old. He who gave His Son as the Sacrifice to save us promises that He will be the One we can count on to carry us when our hair has turned grey.
A caring, loving Lord is a comfort we will need, that is, if we ever get to that point in our lives when we get old.
THE PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, I give thanks that You watched over me throughout my life. I also give thanks that You will be there for me as time goes by. Grant that I may be just as faithful to You. In Your Son’s Name, Amen.
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 116-118 1 Thessalonians 4
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