The Worry of Age

As I was watching tv.. I couldn't help but notice all the commercials geared at beauty  and anti aging products. I thought to myself that it was a shame that we can't appreciate the blessing of getting older. Yes, of course some people won't look as good as others.. that's human nature.. however all the time we spend time dressing up the wrinkles, dying our hair and other measures to mask the natural process of growing older and wiser and looking the part. The truth of the matter is that living a long life is a blessing. As we see death on a daily basis... many times, unfortunate and abrupt endings to lives. I actually was moved to tears the other day at my job when I noticed a co-workers picture on her desk. The picture was of an extremely happy baby boy with down syndrome. He looked so excited in the picture, I couldn't help to ask her if the picture was of her son. She said no, that the picture was of her two year old nephew that had drowned last summer. Apparently, his older sister had left the door unlocked, and the boy was always quite inquisitive and energetic. It was just a moment before they realized the stillness in the house, and called the police to notify them of a missing child. The area they lived in was a rural area and heavily wooded. When the police arrived, they brought search dogs which sniffed out the boy which had drowned in a small pond in the woods. I was instantly floored... thinking about many different aspects of how that impacted all that knew the boy. The loss of a child can create an incredible void. The guilt of his family for feeling like they didn't protect him or that they felt like they even created the circumstances that lead to his death. Just so many things ran through my mind.. I burst into tears and couldn't collect myself for some time. The most profound thought that I had was about my own life.. Just thinking about how I have put myself in many dangerous situations, and how God continues to protect me. On the days where I was late to work.. and he kept me from a car wreck. The plane trips that I took that he kept the plane from falling out the sky. How my body works without my instruction.... All the food I eat, and I have never choked to death.... and I wondered why he finds so much purpose in me. Why he chooses to keep me here, when so many pass away. So therefore, I say all this to say that if God allows you to grow old.... rejoice in it instead of trying to recapture youth....