The Arrival

I have arrived at a place called, Senior Citizenship. I am not sure when this took place, but it has arrived. The first indicators were the mailings from AARP that began arriving in my mailbox in my late 40’s. Another reminder was the stray gray hair that appeared unexpectedly in my late 30’s as an unwelcomed visitor and whose presence I have chosen to embrace and not artificially color.

The decision regarding hair color came in my 30’s when I began to notice wrinkly-faced older people with unnaturally jet-black hair that overly accentuated their already wrinkled faces and advancing age. I did not want to shock people in my later years by an insecurity manifested by the application of Grecian Formula. I decided to grow old as gracefully as I could. Today, my wife, Jan, looks so confident in her skin as she displays her gray locks modeling a grace and ease that frames her overall beauty.

This place in my aging process also brings with it an understanding that the interior of my life remains unchanged. I still have a youthful fire and a warrior spirit that stands at odds with my physical body that no longer can back up the machismo once present in my youth. This realization keeps me out of trouble.

The most unexpected detail to emerge in this process is the increased presence of spiritual authority. This authority has come through years of yielding to a will not my own and by not submitting to the fear that demands my youth be preserved in a state of perpetuity. The Spirit is not limited by the presence of wrinkles or the occasional visit to the Social Security website to see what my monthly pay out might be. The Spirit is eternal and not restricted by the earthly limitations of age.

The scripture tell us our gray hair is a crown of glory. This is not our glory, but a glory that comes from a lifetime of trusting God and being transformed into His glorious image. This transformation is what overcomes our need to artificially maintain to a youth that no longer exists. We can embrace the fullness promised to us in our latter years. This fullness carries with it a blessing greater than we could ever imagine when we were young and AARP did not yet have our address.

 have arrived at a place called, Senior Citizenship. I am not sure when this took place, but it has arrived. The first indicators were the mailings from AARP that began arriving in my mailbox in my late 40’s.  Another reminder was the stray gray hair that appeared unexpectedly in my late 30’s as an unwelcomed visitor and whose presence I have chosen to embrace and not artificially color.

The decision regarding hair color came in my 30’s when I began to notice wrinkly-faced older people with unnaturally jet-black hair that overly accentuated their already wrinkled faces and advancing age. I did not want to shock people in my later years by an insecurity manifested by the application of Grecian Formula. I decided to grow old as gracefully as I could. Today, my wife, Jan​, looks so confident in her skin as she displays her gray locks modeling a grace and ease that frames her overall beauty.

This place in my aging process also brings with it an understanding that the interior of my life remains unchanged.  I still have a youthful fire and a warrior spirit that stands at odds with my physical body that no longer can back up the machismo once present in my youth. This realization keeps me out of trouble.

The most unexpected detail to emerge in this process is the increased presence of spiritual authority.  This authority has come through years of yielding to a will not my own and by not submitting to the fear that demands my youth be preserved in a state of perpetuity.  The Spirit is not limited by the presence of wrinkles or the occasional visit to the Social Security website to see what my monthly pay out might be. The Spirit is eternal and not restricted by the earthly limitations of age.