My grandmother is 90 years old. But you wouldn’t know it to look at her. She is in amazing physical and mental shape. I’d love to say it’s just great genes — and I hope I got them! But I know that it’s more than that.
Grandmother walks twice a day. She says she does that because she knows if she stops using her legs, they’ll stop working. But she didn’t just start walking in the last few years. She was a basketball player in high school, and one of the best golfers in town for most of her adult life. She also watches what she eats, and has done that for years, too. She makes sure to get a balanced diet, and she avoids sugar and fat.
She reads a lot — all kinds of books, from novels to theological reference books. And she keeps up on the latest news and events. She talks with friends and has been attending the same church for over fifty years.
There are some good life lessons in watching my grandmother. Not just in physical and mental care, but also spiritual. She has walked with the Lord most of her life. Really walked with him. And her faith has sustained her through situations that would have completely destroyed other people. She has lost every member of her immediate family – including her only child, my mom, who lost her battle to cancer last year. Grandmother has weathered heartache and heartbreak, and yet her faith has never wavered.
As I think about my grandmother, I am encouraged to be sure I am “staying the course.” I can’t decide when I am 89 that I want to take care of my body. I need to work on that now. But I know that even those who take the best care of their physical bodies can succumb to the horrible diseases of this sin-cursed world. Those who try the hardest to stay sharp can still be afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s. However, the word of God doesn’t return void, and time spent with the Savior is a glorious taste of what we’ll have in eternity. I may not be able to ensure that my body and mind don’t deteriorate, though I will try! But I can be sure that my soul is strengthened daily, by walking daily with God.
I need to exercise my faith, along with my mind and my body, not allowing for laziness in any area. We get one life. And we’re not all guaranteed 90 years. I want to make however many years I’m given count!
“Only one life, twill soon be past
Only what’s done for Christ will last”
-CT Studd
