Several of my friends are dealing with aging parents and the challenges that can accompany an increased life span. It's become apparent that as we age, who we become is in part determined by who we have been.
Years ago I had a friend who was involved in a serious auto accident. She suffered head trauma and other painful injuries. When I visited her in the hospital, she was conscious, though not completely lucid. Though she had always been kind and gracious, I didn't expect to experience what I did in our visit. Wanting to make her comfortable, I asked if she would like a sip of water. "No," she replied, "but would you care for some?"
Because she had established a pattern of gracious behavior in her conscious state, that's what came through in her befuddled state of mind in spite of severe pain. That experience, coupled with seeing my friends' elderly parents navigating through the losses of aging made me all the more conscious of what kind of person I am allowing myself to be NOW.
If I am routinely impatient, rude, or critical when I am relatively healthy and self-sufficient, what makes me think I will be the kind of person my grandchildren will want to visit when I am in failing health?
What will sprout from seeds I'm planting now? Will anyone be able to tell I have been following Christ and desiring to be more like Him?
Posted on Monday, July 28, 2008
by Gloria Ruppel
filed under