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FIX THE DISHWASHER
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www.SeniorARK.com
My Mother
lived for nearly 94 years. One day around her 90th year she said
something like, "If I had known I would live this long, I would
have fixed the dishwasher." It had quit doing something or other
several years earlier, and there it sat quietly biding time. She
thought it foolish to repair her dishwasher in her mid 80's.
After all, both of her parents had died in their upper 40's, and
she had nearly doubled that. So why waste the money. Ha! We
bought her a new dishwasher that year.
Have you
stopped repairing things in your life? What have you become "too
old to do?" What have you quit doing because discouragement has
set in? We do often develop physical or mental conditions that
limit or slow down our abilities. I notice heavier breathing
when I go up the stairs, and arthritis has found joints I didn't
know I had. And sometimes I feel a little put off by it. Perhaps
we can no longer jog, but we can walk. Or if the knees hurt too
badly to walk, we can swim.
Last week I
turned sixty five. I am surprised that sixty five doesn't seem
as old as I once saw it. But it is a milestone for many of us.
It is a time to assess who we are and what we intend to do with
our lives now that we have reached what our nation has
established as the "retirement age". But statisticians
tell us that a 65 year old male in America today can expect to
live at least another 18.4 years. A female gets a bonus. The
average 65-year-old woman today can expect to live another 19.8
years or a total of 84.8 years. If she makes it to 75, she can
expect an additional 12.6 years or a total of 87.6 years. Men
don't do quite as well, but the difference shrinks as they age.
A 75-year-old man can expect, on average, another 10.5 years or
85.5 years total. Remember, these are averages -- you can beat
them by eating right, staying active, staying involved and
exercising your brain. Develop the mindset that you will always
repair the dishwasher.
This Christian
believes that each of us was put here with a purpose. Some of us
were trapped in jobs for decades that hardly reflected our
talents or true abilities. Retirement may well be a time to
discover, or rediscover talents that have long lain dormant.
Without the unique demands of children and jobs, it may be time
to investigate hobbies,
service,
computers, new
education, or even a whole new career. Check out
Missions
for Retired and Second Career Christians. Think back to
the things you wish you could have done. Now may be the day to
begin them. Or perhaps you want to hone your skills in your
former profession, and then go at with a slightly different
focus.
At age 81, Joe
Paterno is coaching his 58th season at Penn State as an
assistant or head coach, holding the record for any
football coach at any university. Tomorrow he will coach his
500th game. He regularly fixes the dishwasher, and continues to
develop character in the young men he mentors.
My neighbor is
in her mid 80's, and a retired high school math teacher. Her
answer to all questions of health are "I have no complaints."
Last year Dolores lost her beloved poodle of 16 years. She
immediately got another. When she isn't going to the senior
center for tai chi, she is having lunch with a circle of women
friends. Occasionally she slips out to nursing homes to help
less ambulatory friends with simple needs. She has been known to
help some of them with filling out income tax forms. When our
granddaughter came to live with us this summer, Dolores
introduced her to the public library, and counseled with her
about books and school. No broken dishwashers in that house.
If you have
developed a faith in God along the way, or if you would like to,
then ask God what you need to be doing. And ask friends, and ask
family, and even ask your former boss if you had one. And get
into your computer and poke around. Go to photography sites,
service sites, sites for your faith. Think of the things "you
wish somebody would do", and then give it a shot. Know it or
not, you have become a wise man or woman through experience.
There is much you can do, and now have the time to do it.
You are too
valuable a child of God to sit around idly like the broken
dishwasher. Go for it!
I NEED THEE EVERY
HOUR
Words:
Annie S. Hawks, 1872. Music:
Robert Lowry
I need
Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
Refrain
I need Thee,
O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
I need
Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.
Refrain
I need
Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.
Refrain
I need
Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
Refrain
I need
Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.
Refrain
Prayer. O God
our loving Father, we need you every hour of our lives, and
especially now as we weigh our challenges in retirement. We
place our hopeful hand in yours, and wait for your
direction. Infuse our every day with hope and joy through what
we do. Amen
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I
give Thee back the life I owe,
