A pretty day, not a cloud in the sky, both Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams are gleaming in the sunshine.

Warmer than predicted, but with the clear skies, tonight could go lower than predicted – ‘tis okay, love all four seasons, especially when we get all four seasons.

Carla was requested to come to work today, she did, didn’t have all that much on the agenda.  The sun has melted a lot of the snow out there, still the worse area is our driveway which is the last thing to clear – it runs along the neighbor’s seven foot fence and is shadowed from the sun.

Still the Toyota should handle it okay; she took it into work instead of the pickup.  Not sure what she will use tonight when she babysits.

I’ve got some writing done and a bit of kitchen work, all animals are fed and hunkering down in the living room.  Business as usual up in our neck of the woods.

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Psalm 71:17-18  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

¹⁸ Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. KJV

Shirley, after our exchanges of messages yesterday, this is what I found in one of my devotions today, found it amusing – think God is talking to us?

I have been around ‘old’ people who are as sharp as a tack.  They are great communicators, remember things very well and live a vibrant life.

Then there are the rest of us (so to speak, some of us reject the term of ‘old’ but we ARE older) we can’t leave a room unless we have a list of what we are going to be doing in the next room, we get excited when we find our lost glasses – or even teeth, working hard is managing to get 10 percent of what we used to be able to do in a couple of hours but now takes us several hours with lots of rest periods in between.

Our ministries change as we get older.  God still expects us to do His will and to be faithful to Him, but He knows the frailty of life and does not expect the same thing from an eighty year old that He does when we were in our twenties.

Or, does He?

How old was Abraham when he had his son with Sara?

How old was Moses when he led the people out of Egypt and walked the wilderness for 40 years?

How old was Noah as he was commanded to build an ark?

Age matters to us, at least to a degree.  Races, matches and other athletic contests that are open to the general public understand that an older person cannot compete with a much younger person, so they have age ranges where everyone is on a more level playing field.

And then, of course, we have better discounts at stores.

Many cultures revere their elders, going to them for advice and counsel, being respectful at all times to them, not expecting them to do the same things they used to do when younger and not feeling put upon to help them.  Unfortunately America is not one of them, as a general rule.

But age doesn’t mean anything to God, only the heart matters to Him.

Now, I don’t think He is going to take someone and expect them to do something that they cannot do – however, HE KNOWS, what we can do and how long, far or deep we can go – with HIS help.

Each of us has a different mission.  God will adjust it as He sees fit and I believe He does make adjustments based on what age has done in our life.  

Our responsibility is to continue to live for Him and still be an example to others.

Our responsibility is to trust in Him and when He tells us to do something (and we know there is a difference between getting great ideas on our own, and finding out what GOD says) He will give us the ability to do so.

I do remember one person who was approached by a member of the church and told him that God told her he was supposed to do something.

He didn’t do it, so she came up to him again and gently chastised him for not doing as she said, he was kind and said, “thank you, and as soon as God verifies what you said, I will move forward.”

Most Christians have experienced something like that in their past – sometimes it is valid, other times it is just someone, who may be sincere, trying to tell us what ‘they’ think is best for us.

Other times we have had that verified by others, or by events, and other times we feel led to do something and we will have it confirmed by others.

God has a way of showing us what His will is and what our own private desires are – and it pays to listen and recognize the difference.

It doesn’t matter where we are, we are still His child.

It doesn’t matter our physical or mental abilities to do the things we used to do, we are still His child.

All that matters is our focus on Him, our dedication to Him, and living our life for Him.

As older Christians we have ‘been’ there.  We have often made mistakes that we see others make and can relate to them.  We have accomplished tasks that God has given us, and we can help others do that with tasks they receive.

He doesn’t cast us aside as if we are cannon fodder, He holds us tight, gives us rest and assurance and guides us as we continue to serve Him.

Mathew 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Even if that means just resting in Him.

Later, Art (-: