A Shawl and a Rocking Chair

By Cathy Irvin

Do you think about growing old? Perhaps you wonder what you will look like, act like, where you will be, and what you will have accomplished. Some are fearful about aging because there are so many unknowns.

I meditate on the Word of God, especially if I get overly concerned about the future. The Lord says His grace is sufficient. He encourages us to take one day at a time and promises that He will renew our youth like the eagles. He tells He has a plan for each one of us. It is a plan to prosper us and to keep us in good health. He says this about growing old:

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles (Psalm 103:5).

My mother was not afraid of getting old. She lived life to its fullest until she became ill with cancer. Even then, she tried to live every moment to its maximum. She would ask for Chinese food or to have a shrimp night. She went out when she was weak just to go to church or shopping in order to spend time with her loved ones. She fought the cancer because she was fighting to live. She was 85-years-old when she went to be with the Lord. One thing she requested before she became so sick was, "Never put me in a shawl or in a rocking chair." She even gave me a red shawl someone gave her. I have it tucked away. My sister and I honored her request.

This winter I plan to wrap up my great-granddaughter, get in my recliner rocking chair, and rock her to sleep. That is what rocking chairs are for - rocking babies. Perhaps deep down I don't want to use the rocker because I think about getting old; since my mother thought this way. I must be careful to think God thoughts, not the thoughts of others (even if they are my mother's). I am to follow in His ways.

You may think it's not important to be concerned about getting old. But it is important if you get fearful. I have a friend who is afraid of getting old. I tell him that aging is inevitable; God says that the outward man perishes but the inward man is renewed day by day.

We shouldn't be afraid to age. Our concern needs to be that our spirits stay in tune with what God is saying as we grow older. Are we obedient to all He has called us to do? Are we walking out our destiny? We need to live like the old song says, "One day at a time sweet Jesus."

We are to live to please to God. We can grow old gracefully because God's grace is sufficient. Let's all grab shawls and God's Word and get in a rocking chair. Let's read it to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren so when they are old they will remember that getting there wasn't so bad. They will remember they learned from us how to age God's way.

Lord, teach us all to live one day at a time.

Daily Devotion

A Shawl and a Rocking Chair

By Cathy Irvin

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