Old Age and Gray Hair
“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old”. – Proverbs 20:29
“Gray hair is a crown of splendor, it is attained by a righteous life”.- Proverbs 16:31
“Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone” – Psalm 71: 9
As I was looking for a topic to include in the devotions I was thinking about my Mother, Grandmothers and Dad. I had one Grandmother pass away at 69, one at 82 and Mother at 73 last year and my Dad at 61. Death happens sometimes when you least expect it.
My Mother had many health issues over her life that began in her 20s and her life was not easy. As the saying goes “this will give you gray hair”. She worked hard many times having 2 jobs, she did not care about material things and was the first to give you what she had. Her final gift was to donate her body to UAB Anatomical Donor Program in hopes of helping others.
As her body and mind began to fail over the years she would always say “it is just old age”. Memory, heart issues, loss of a son to suicide, many things can make a person “old” at a “young age” and cause gray hair. If a person with memory loss asks you the same question a dozen times, just keep answering the question. You may laugh, you may cry and it could be you one day too. Mother would read her Bible and Sunday School lesson on Saturday and many times read it again because her memory was not great. She believed you prepared on Saturday for church on Sunday.
My thought to share is: spend some time with an “old person” as often as you can and don’t take your parents/grandparents health for granted. I have been honored the last few months to bring my 93 year old Great Aunt Laura Boren to church when she is able and enjoy just listening to her share about our family, BPUMC, the community and her life. You just never know what you might learn!
Prayer; I pray that old people with gray hair are not forgotten and feel loved. I pray that people are more accepting of others who may be a little different and love them regardless. AMEN.
Jan Harris
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