This category brings together any blogs that comment on the relationships that exist among older adults, as well as their relationships with people in younger age groups. Some of these relationships are full, rich and rewarding, while others need effort and prayer. In all cases, relationships keep older adults healthy, spiritually mature and purposed.
Memorial Day comes once a year, but my thanks for members of the military extends further. With the rest of our country’s citizens, I owe a debt of gratitude to all of you who have served in the military, especially those who have paid the costs of your service in small-yet-significant ways. “Thanks for your service” doesn’t seem to say enough, so let me add these few words to express myMORE...
This is one of those weeks on my calendar where “Doctor visit” shows up more than once. Several of those doctors have given me the gift of added useful years—e.g., cancers in abeyance, limbs and eyes in good working order. Although I thank them at every visit—“Because of you, I’m still alive and doing well”—I don’t think I’ve ever given them an account of what these additional years have meant toMORE...
(What follows is a summary of the thoughts shared by our pastor this past Sunday. For most congregations this was Good Shepherd Sunday, but Pastor Shelly Satran found something more than that inside the day’s lectionary. Brilliant and inspiring stuff…..) On this Sunday, it’s common—and perhaps expected—that we revisit the familiar analogies embedded in Psalm 23 and Jesus’ musings aboutMORE...
“Can I still persuade or motivate others?” That’s a personal question I think about regularly. This matter is related to my ongoing sense of purpose, or at least my continuing hopes to make a difference. Somewhere, somehow. When I was employed, the answers to that question could be framed by my roles as worker, leader, producer, boss, principal or teacher. In those vocations, I had some relatedMORE...
Over the past several weeks I’ve been trying out a method for bringing small moments of grace into the lives of service personnel and random strangers. My short, appreciative interchanges start with “Hi!—(pause)—You having a good day?” This approach might be enjoyable for you, too. Here’s how it has worked for me…. Some response sequences “If “YES!”, I continue with “What’s been goodMORE...
Tomorrow’s reminder: God’s love redeems us. We’re saved not only from eternal punishment, but also made useful for God’s purposes. We experience that love in our love for each other. Lives bent toward loneliness, despair or self-doubt are turned around by the tangible evidence that someone else cherishes us. When love finds us, we’re rescued, retrofitted with hope and reinforced for purposedMORE...
A couple of weeks ago, my ESL student and I discovered that as young boys we both spent a good share of our summer days playing in the dirt. He grew up in rural India and I spent my early years in a Los Angeles suburb. We both remembered how enjoyable it was to dig and build things—roads, dams, structures. How we added water to transform dirt into mud, streams or ponds. How sticks, rocks andMORE...
(Because of my advanced MO degree, I am a bona fide Master of the Obvious. That’s why this entry will likely tell you something you already know. In this case, what’s obvious is this: That although I think of myself as helpful, I’m probably also someone who other people think could use some help!) For a good share of my life—continuing into these later decades—I’ve thought of myself as someoneMORE...
I enjoy leisurely conversations with other elders. Sometimes in our chats, a word or phrase can suddenly become unavailable. The mutual sharing can come to a halt. One among us seems caught in temporary forgetfulness. At those moments, embarrassment can insert itself into the relationship. When that phenomenon lasts for more than a few seconds, the rest of us wonder: “How can we help?” OneMORE...
Standing at the center of the events surrounding the circumcision and naming of Jesus is an elderly woman. (See Luke 2:36-38 for the story.) What’s perhaps overlooked about the narrative: She’s identified as “the prophet Anna.” At 84 years of age, this devout woman entered the ritual scene that had just featured a song by the “good man” Simeon. Her reaction to Jesus’ presence befitted herMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.