Thinking back when I was a lot younger, I now see that what we are experiencing today as what they call "Senior Citizens", as a normal life cycle that is really no different than any other time, other than of course the technology of the "present".  I will be willing to bet that had we asked our grandparents and our parents, this answer would have been the same, except the term "technology" hadn't been invented yet!

Below is a perfect example of the life cycle that I am talking about.

Doesn't that about cover our topic of the day?  I think that the artist that thought this wonderful sequence up should be given some kind of a award on what we are.

How many of us have gotten to the third picture from the end and can't remember the first three?  Since we (Pat and I) moved to Tennessee, we have had our lives slowed down a bunch from the hustle bustle of city living and focusing on the raising of the children and the keeping both the wife AND my employer happy, and all the stuff in-between happening at once.  I remember my grandparents, that I have written about previously, and how calm and content they seemed, when I got to visit them.  They had experienced the first three frames of the above picture when I was in the first frame.  By the time I had progressed to the third frame, my grandparents (both sets) had reached the last frame.  At the time, I didn't realize the significance of the importance of the life cycle.  If someone could have sat me down and firmly explained the meaning behind each of these frames when I was even in the second one, maybe I could have enjoyed the trip a lot more.  Oh, I am not saying that it was a miserable trip!  Far from it.  I feel that I have been the most blessed person in the world!  It was God's hand working in every part of my life, including the woman I married, the children that we were so blessed with the responsibility to raise them with values and ethics to pass on to their families.  What I am thinking is that even though my grandparents gave me hints of how good retirement was, I was never really understanding the importance of the later part of living.

It is now that we can sit back and see God's hand in what He has guided us through.  How it was when we needed the most help in overcoming what we thought were major crises, were just little bumps in the journey of life.  And we were open to His help in solving whatever it was at the time that needed solving. The wonderful thing about it was that we didn't realize that it was HIM that was getting us through it, not us!  How foolish we were huh?  Yes, it is now that we really enjoy seeing and experiencing HIS love for us and sit quietly (grown kids, remember, there is quietness now ...occasionally) and listen to His whispers of encouragement to finish the journey with pride and dignity, but in HIS time, not ours.  It is this relationship that is putting our worldly hustle and bustle into a new light and it's lack of importance of necessity.  Things will get done in the proper time...maybe not in the time we want, but . . .

The next to the last frame is the one that bothers me.  Pat and I have decided that 95 is a good time to go home, but then again, it IS God's decision!  But still, we figure our house will be paid up by then and we would have done most things that were important to us by then.  If it is longer than that, it would be fine too, I suppose, after all, if God isn't finished with us by then, we will most gladly continue on! ha ha  But the living alone is the scary part.  I have depended on Pat for what seems like all of my life!

It is the last frame that must be talked about.  What will your children do, act and say about how you lived your life?  Will they understand?  Will they have raised their children to have the same high values that you had taught them?  Have we done enough to prepare our kids for living a full, productive and respectful life that centers around our spiritual belief system?  By the time you are in the fourth frame, your work to make those things happen have been all but used up.  Don't delay!  The period between third and fourth is where your work with a focus really needs to be in high gear.  Right now the fourth picture is where Pat and I are at.  We are enjoying it tremendously, because I feel that frames one, two and three were done well.  I have no worries or concerns of how the children raising time went.  With a partner like I have, it was easy for me...she helped me through without killing anyone!  (Just a joke.)  Is is remarkable now, seeing what sense of humor God really has when it comes to child rearing. Have you had an opportunity to see it in your case as well?  

The point of this story is this:  LIFE runs in a cycle.  Enjoy each frame to the fullest.  It is not how fast we run the race to the end, but how many lives we touch positively along the way that counts.  When it comes to your kids, it is so important that they understand that there IS a purpose in living life to the best that they can, to accomplish God's plan, for each of them.  It is then that the last frame of our picture gets the most attention.  

Keep singing, keep praying, keep smiling

Blessings,

Gary