I was in the supermarket getting some items from the deli counter. It was wintertime, and I was wearing only a light jacket. The woman behind the counter looked at me and said, "You know, it's very important for older people to dress warmly in winter." I looked around, thinking she was talking to someone behind me. Then I realized she was talking to me.
Now, I do have gray hair, and maybe I'm a little creaky around the edges. But some years ago, I realized that life is not really meant to be one long downward slide from a bright and sparkling youth to a decrepit old age. Life—real life—is spiritual. One of the things that helped me understand this is a wonderful statement by Christ Jesus. Speaking of the people he wanted to help through his ministry, he said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10. To me, this means that as we come to understand God better, our lives expand instead of contract. Since God is infinite good, then letting God be our guide leads us into new opportunities, no matter what our age. The Old Testament in the Bible is full of stories of very old people who did amazing things. It seems clear that from God's standpoint, age is really irrelevant.
In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom. Immortal Mind feeds the body with supernal freshness and fairness, supplying it with beautiful images of thought and destroying the woes of sense which each day brings to a nearer tomb." Science and Health, p. 248.
