Over the years I’ve taken advantage of the spiritual depth of wonderfully pious folks. In reading and contemplating their words, I’ve gotten through some rough patches, seen what I had been missing, re-calibrated what I thought about God and found inspiration to change my behavior. What these spiritual elders wrote was “devotional”—helping me gather up handfuls of daily living and wander around in spiritual matters until I found a place where things fit.
There are also “devotions”, the kinds of writing that follow an expected format—Bible passage, meaningful anecdote, a gleaned truth connecting the two, and a brief prayer. They’re short and, because of their patterned writing, can be understood more easily. Familiar vocabularies, traditional spiritual lessons, stories that ignite spiritual memories and prayers that soothe—these are the ingredients of devotions that benefit millions of devout people every day.
These blogs take a different direction. Without being devotions, these entries are still spiritual. Why? I’m thinking that spirituality doesn’t always fit into neat categories. That some biblical thoughts have a hard time reaching into the realities of old age. That there are parts of aging that get short-shrift because the usual Scriptures don’t seem to cover them.
These blogs are devotional—starting with what you and I may be experiencing during this time in our lives, and looking for spiritual correlations, connections and comforts. These blogs are spiritual—none of us is a minor god come to Earth and so we want to find God’s nature and will somewhere in the maze of daily living. These blogs are hopeful—God is not done with us yet! These blogs are authentic about life—they can help you deal with the realities you face as an older adult, but still turning you toward positive outcomes.
More devotional words to follow….
