Gettin’ Old

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Recently I bumped into some friends Nate and I had known in our early days of marriage. They were older than us by about a decade, and we always admired them greatly.

Handshake

I could tell the husband didn’t recognize me, so I said, “It’s Margaret Nyman,” as I shook his hand and smiled.

But nothing.

“From Moody Church?” I added. But he needed more.

“You sent an encouraging letter to me after Nate died.”

And finally it clicked.

“Oh yes! Margaret!” he said, folding me into a hug.

But what he said next was a bit unsettling, though spoken without the slightest tinge of malice. Studying my face he said, “Oh my! It has been a long time since I’ve seen you!”

Not sure how to respond, I just chuckled and turned to greet his wife.

Sometimes the truth arrives as a smack, and I thought about this man’s comment for quite a while. But he was only saying out loud what I’d seen in my mirror every day.

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Doris D.My sister Mary and I have always been fans of Doris Day, an actress who played the wholesome girl-next-door in movies of the ‘50’s and 60’s. We loved her sugar-sweet romantic comedies and were captivated recently when a special-edition magazine about her life hit newsstands.

When we paged to current-day pictures of this once-adorable woman, however, we gasped, responding much like my friend did to me: “Oh my! What happened to her?”

Mary recovered first, and in a quiet voice said, “It comes to all of us.” And that’s the truth of our steadily declining physical selves.

Doris1.jpg

A popular belief these days is that the Baby Boomer generation, approximately 76-million strong, won’t age. Although this group “got wild” in their teens and twenties, eventually they brought national attention to health food and were responsible for starting the running craze.

They shun retirement and retirement homes, and news commentators have noted Boomers are in a state of denial about their own aging and death, preferring instead to “think about it later.” But deep down, they know it’ll come.

It’s not that each of us didn’t have a grand beginning. What could be more remarkable than God “knitting us together in our mothers’ wombs”? (Psalm 139) If we stockpile enough years, though, Mary’s statement becomes everybody’s bottom line: “It comes to all of us.”

But there is an up-side. Spurgeon says it well: “Our bodies humble us, and that is about the best thing they do for us.” Since God values humility, maybe that’s the whole reason he designed the aging process as he did.

So, no matter how many old friends don’t recognize us through our wrinkles, we mustn’t despair. For now, it’s a healthy humbling, and some day? It’s all going to come to a delightful conclusion:

“The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will [when he returns] transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

Anytime, Anywhere, and Always

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AslanMost of us have read The Chronicles of Narnia series written by C.S.Lewis. Although the major players in these fantasies are 4 sibling children, the real star is a male lion named Aslan.

My favorite line from the books is a 5-word statement that recurs throughout the series: “Aslan is on the move.”

In the storyline, once the big lion has begun to move, all kinds of impressive things begin happening, positive things that defy logic and bring delightful consequences. The lion has supernatural power over everything from relationships to the weather, and the children learn to put their fear of him aside and trust him.

Aslan dies.

When they discover that Aslan’s enemies have bound him and tortured him, they hide in the bushes, frightened and in deep distress over his suffering. As he is killed, their grief escalates, but the next day they realize their beloved Aslan has come back to life! Their joy knows no bounds.

In the Lewis allegory, Aslan parallels the character of Christ, who sacrificed his own life for another motivated purely by love. Once resurrected, the lion is again “on the move,” and eventually his good conquers all evil.

When I hear that statement, “Aslan is on the move,” I think of the way God answers prayer. Let’s say that back in 1986 I begin to pray for someone I dearly love, to commit her life to Christ.

Many years pass as I pray, and my friend evidences no changes in her beliefs or behaviors. She has zero interest in spiritual things. Eventually, as lack of an answer discourages me, my prayers for her wane, and by 2002, I table that particular request altogether. “I guess it’s not meant to be,” I think.

Then, in 2006, taking me by surprise, my friend begins asking questions about the Bible, suddenly interested in what Scripture has to say. I think, “Aslan is on the move!” I might even speak that sentence out loud thinking, “God has finally decided to answer my prayers of 20 years ago!”

In reality, he began to move way back in 1986 with the first voicing of my very first prayer about my friend. Though I didn’t see any outward evidence of change, he began creatively shaping circumstances, rearranging the details of that woman’s life, and bringing along situations that would challenge her toward faith.

In the Narnia story, Aslan’s arch-enemy is a witch who tries to work her magic on him, but his response is profound: “There is a magic deeper still the Witch does not know.”

Trust

Of course Christ’s power has nothing to do with magic and everything to do with him being God Almighty, but the principle is the same: with his unmatched supremacy he can overcome evil with good anywhere, anytime, and always.

And incredibly, he often begins the process by responding to our prayers.

“I am the Alpha and Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)  

A Wish for Water

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Most people find it peaceful to look out over a large body of water. Even a small lake or a narrow river does something special for us. Because of this, waterfront property is pricey, and limited “front row” lots keep it out of reach for most of us.

Lake Michigan

I live a short walk from the gorgeous vista of massive Lake Michigan but can’t see the water from my house. Homeowners fortunate enough to overlook the lake pay a steep financial premium for it.

There’s another way we all appreciate water, and it has to do with our thirst.

Thirsty soldierI remember a few years back reading the story of a soldier shot down in enemy territory who buried himself to escape capture. A week later, as he was scooped up in a dare-devil helicopter rescue, all he could say was, “Water! I need water!” The soldiers who’d rescued him laughed at his gulping and spilling, marveling at the amount he drank before finally calming down.

Water is precious to us. It’s also priceless, especially if seen through the lens of Scripture.

Water is used as a symbol for several things in the Bible, the most important of which is salvation. Jesus describes himself as the living water, life-giving for those who believe in him. But water in Scripture is also symbolic for other things: cleansing, purification, healing, nourishment, and baptism.

It’s interesting that in all these water-references, God is the one in charge, whether it’s setting water’s boundaries, withholding or sending rain, using water in judgment, or quenching spiritual thirst. He was in charge at the time of creation (as the Spirit moved over the face of the waters) and will be the architect of heavenly waters (creating a river flowing from the throne of God).

Water

We all need water, both the literal kind and the symbolic kind, which translates to needing him. But of course sometimes we end up sampling other “drinks” before we finally realize there’s only one that will thoroughly (and permanently) satisfy our thirst.

Water will always fascinate us: a bubbling aquarium, a fountain, a summer rainstorm, a swimming pool, a cold drink. Scripture describes a heavenly sea like crystal that God intends to make for us one day. I’ve tried to envision such a wonder and am hoping I’ll get to spend time looking at it in the hereafter. But the one important water-fact that had to occur before I would be allowed to see it, was my drinking from the fountain of life, receiving the living water of Christ.

Since I’ve done that, I eagerly look forward to seeing (and maybe swimming in?) the crystal sea. And knowing how grand paradise will be, there will probably even be accommodations for each person who wants a dwelling with a waterfront view.

….no financial premium required.

“To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” (Revelation 21:6)