Approval

A few years ago I fell off my mountain bike and hurt my shoulder. This was not an unusual occurrence but this time my shoulder still felt painful a few days later and I had to go to a doctor to get it checked out. I asked the doctor why I didn’t recover from this injury like I had plenty of times before. His response was brutal, “you’re getting older.” Apparently my body isn’t as flexible as it was. My joints aren’t as smooth, my bones are not as strong, my muscles are not as quick and my eyesight is not as good. This came as quite a shock, getting older was something that happened to other people! This injury, and the doctor's blunt diagnosis, really brought home the truth. Suddenly I found that I could really relate to Terry Pratchett who wrote that inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened. What about you? At what point did you realise that you were actually getting old, or was it something you have always been aware of? How did you feel when the doctor (or whatever) made you realise that you were getting older? I think it's especially a shock because we live in a culture that celebrates youth. It seems like a vast majority of advertising is aimed at a younger audience, a majority of people featured on radio and television are young and certainly the majority of social media stars are young. Some Youtube and Twitch streaming video stars don't even seem to have finished high school! When we are no longer a part of this celebrated bunch of people it's easy to feel a sense of loss and perhaps even regret. If you had the opportunity what would you say to your younger self? What advice would you offer? What warnings would you give? What encouragement would you bequeath?

Scripture References: Ecclesiastes 11:9-10

Related Topics: Aging, Work | More Messages from Phil Inglis | Download Audio

From Series: "Satisfied?"

Are you Satisfied with life? Truly? The book of Ecclesiastes records Solomon's wrestle with satisfaction in many areas of life.