For many people, the approach of their 80th year is more like a curse than a cause for celebration. But I've found from my mother's example, and from others, that longevity doesn't have to be a curse at all. My mother remained alert, joyous, and productive until she passed away at 92. She was interested in current events and in spiritual matters throughout her long life. Her prayers embraced the world. She was active in our household, in her church, and in her work as a Christian Science practitioner—a spiritual healer. She was vitally and enthusiastically interested in everyone she met.
Mary Baker Eddy herself accomplished a great deal in what might be referred to now as her senior years. Healed of the effects of a fall on the ice while in her 40s, she went on to discover Christian Science and to articulate this spiritual Science through her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. And her work lives on, because since that time, tens of thousands of readers have depended on it for healing. She then founded a Church—eventually naming her book, along with the Holy Bible, as its pastor. She established this monthly magazine when she was in her 60s, a weekly magazine when she was in her 70s—and an international newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, in her 80s. Winner of seven Pulitzer Prizes, It's still a widely respected source for readers looking for unbiased reports of today's news.
So it should come as no surprise that in Science and Health Mrs. Eddy takes a radical stand about age—one that I have found very helpful in my own senior years. She writes,
