A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
“Many people in their 40’s and 50’s regret decisions they made in their 20’s and 30’s,” my
pastor Charlie Boyd recently said in a sermon. If that’s true for middle-aged people, and it
certainly is, what must it be for people in their 70’ss and 80’s?
To my surprise, I have suddenly grown very old. How should I use these precious, rare
days God has given me? As I’ve thought about it, I’ve come to realize that my options are
somewhat limited. They depend, for the most part, on decisions I made earlier in life. Financial
decisions? They depend on how well Walt and I managed our income through the years.
Contacts with my neighbors? Now that I am rather house-bound, it would be hard to initiate
friendships. Relationships with my family? If I had been bitter or unkind, it would be very
difficult to win their love now. My friendship with Jesus? If ever I needed Him, it is now, in my
old age, when I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t walk, and can’t remember words!
That’s why Ecclesiastes 12:1 gives this important admonition to young people:
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the evil days come,
And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.”
Ecclesiastes 12:1
I don’t remember worrying about getting old when I was young. I do remember my dear
Grandmother Cooke coming from Texas to live with Mother and Daddy in her old age in our tall,
elm-shaded Wheaton home. She’d grown up in west Texas, where you can see the skies for miles
and miles. My Grandmother Cooke missed it all. She would sit at the piano and sing with tears,
“Abide with me; fast falls the eventide.” She turned to me and said, “I miss my Jimmy so
much—and I can’t even see the sky!” Old age had come upon her with its losses and sorrows.
So, today I am faced with the results of all of the decisions I’ve made throughout my life.
The decisions that were wise now give me great joy. The poor and hasty decisions I made now
hold me accountable. I can regret them, and I have received forgiveness from God for them, but I
can’t erase the effect they had on others.
So our dear Heavenly Father gently says to those of you not yet old, “Remember Me now,
while you are young. You are making decisions that will affect your entire life, and, indeed,
determine where you will spend eternity.” Hebrews 3:13 says,
Exhort one another daily,
while it is called “Today,”
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Thank God, today we can do His will, we can do today what He created us to do,
regardless of the poor decisions we’ve made in the past. We don’t have to dread the future,
because He has promised He’ll be with us, and guide us in the right way. But keep in mind that
the decisions you make today will affect all the years of your future.
If you are already old and feeling helpless, don’t despair. We’ll talk next week about the marvelous blessings of old age.