There is an old legend which tells of certain angels who had fallen from
their high estate. When asked what they missed most in their now earth
bound existence, they replied, “The sound of trumpets in the morning.”

It’s not difficult to appreciate exactly what that means because as we
approach more senior years we have seen our expectations of life diminish
somewhat. For most of us, age, and its attendant problems and
difficulties tends to creep up on us. We go to do something that we have
done adequately for years, such as an exerting few hours in the garden,
only to find that our capabilities don’t match up to our objectives. We
plan for our retirement activities when we reach our 50’s and early 60’s
only to find when the time comes that the effort is frequently a little
beyond us.

And it’s not only physical activity. As we approach our senior years the
expectations of our friendships, our environment, our health and even our
finances, will have a considerable bearing on those expectations for
retirement. There are many people who, through their working life, have
endeavoured to make financial provision for retirement only to find that
those provisions are far from adequate.

These and similar problems can lead to disillusionment at a time when our
expectations from life are so high. And like the grit in the wheel,
disillusionment can work its way into our moral machinery, and it becomes
self-generating and destructive. We then tend to think back to all those
good things that we enjoyed: mateship at work or at sport, the interest or
involvement of a job, achievements in the physical sense that we can look
back to and say “I did that.”

We must understand that in life we pass through one door into another room
– a room full of new things, new activities, new friendships, new
achievements. For what age has taken from us on the one hand, it has
given to us on the other a very precious commodity – the gift of time and
experience. How satisfying our later years will be depends largely on how
we use that gift of time and experience and the opportunities they present.
We all have different desires and capabilities, so stocktaking and
planning are essential.

And in this task much help is available – the Fatherhood of God, the
friendship of Jesus, the law of love, the glory of service, and the eternal
hope of the coming Kingdom. Was anything as exciting as this?

Have a good week. Pastor Ron
Optional Bible reading: 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

This is one of a series of weekly messages of encouragement originating
from the Derwent Valley, near Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. A companion
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