It started with a headache, and now it’s been seven-day marathon with a nasty virus. Despite the sore throat that feels like swallowing razors, I’m finding this time in my recliner, snow falling outside, my dog Bea at my side, quite peaceful; it’s given me time to reflect. Reflect and set goals. But, setting goal is fearsome at times. That familiar anxiety of failure pops up. I used to ignore it, but now I give it a name. How can I cast something on God in prayer that has no name?
Drumroll…I’m pushing sixty! 6-0! I’m getting old, but I still have lifegoals. Am I too old?
So, I’m finding it key to name my cares. It takes some soul searching, some solitude, but when they crop up, I want to nip them in the bud by prayer. Some mock the notion that prayer, that it’s for weak people. They are correct. Oxford scholar and author C.S. Lewis said:
“I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.”
After casting my care on God, I try to find inspiration.
So, my role models for aging are:
Grandma Moses, the great folk artist, who started to paint at age 75!
Colonel Sanders sold chicken out of his station wagon and started the first KFC at age 62!
Frank McCourt who wrote Angela’s Ashes and won a Pulitzer Prize for this book at age65.
But, my favorite is my old neighbor in Ellington NY, who at age 75 talked to neighborhood kids while sipping lemonade. Stories of Jim Rowland’s kind heart and listening ear, steering kids away from trouble, changing their lives, are still pouring in. (His story is in my book, The Amish Doll. I hope I did him justice.)
So, let’s name our anxious thoughts and get some inspiration to overcome, by God’s grace. <3
Drumroll…I’m pushing sixty! 6-0! I’m getting old, but I still have lifegoals. Am I too old?
So, I’m finding it key to name my cares. It takes some soul searching, some solitude, but when they crop up, I want to nip them in the bud by prayer. Some mock the notion that prayer, that it’s for weak people. They are correct. Oxford scholar and author C.S. Lewis said:
“I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.”
After casting my care on God, I try to find inspiration.
So, my role models for aging are:
Grandma Moses, the great folk artist, who started to paint at age 75!
Colonel Sanders sold chicken out of his station wagon and started the first KFC at age 62!
Frank McCourt who wrote Angela’s Ashes and won a Pulitzer Prize for this book at age65.
But, my favorite is my old neighbor in Ellington NY, who at age 75 talked to neighborhood kids while sipping lemonade. Stories of Jim Rowland’s kind heart and listening ear, steering kids away from trouble, changing their lives, are still pouring in. (His story is in my book, The Amish Doll. I hope I did him justice.)
So, let’s name our anxious thoughts and get some inspiration to overcome, by God’s grace. <3
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