“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Ps 23:4Each stage of life is important; that of course is not rocket science. However, many people seem to think that each successive stage after a certain age, then life becomes something to dread and try to avoid at all cost. While it is true that when in early middle age it can be difficult to see one’s youth finally fade, it can be the dawn of a new life and not a sunset at all? In any case, it is best to embrace the experience and seek to live it out fully. While this life can be very difficult and painful, it is also a one time deal, we are here only once.
A certain age only once, and our relationships are a one time deal as well. When you get two, usually there will come a time when there is only one. So what we seek the most, love, also brings with it some pain and loss in time. Yet are not our lives worth it all. Because our lives are so short and time at a premium, it gives depth and color to our days if we keep that reality before our eyes. For it is easy to ‘fall asleep’ and forget that we are just like the flowers of the field, here today and gone tomorrow.
Most people that I know that are in their 50’s and up, tend to expend more energy on their inner life, their soul, their relationship with others and finally, if they believe in God, with the Infinite. As a Christian, I would say that is a deepening relationship with Christ Jesus. I am not one of those Christians who believe that God only works through the Christian path, but actually, the Holy Spirit has been at work in the hearts of men and women from the beginning. So as we age, and learn that we will actually die and that diminishment is just as much a part of life as our youth was, things can get resettled, priorities changed and the journey continues.
We like to think in terms of strength, power, and control. Yet fragility is also an important aspect of creation. A reality, that as we age, experience more and more. Friends and family members who belong to our generation get sick, have serious chronic health conditions and die. There is nothing we can do to stop this development, yet we can learn not to fear it, even if unpleasant. In my family, this fragility of life, the shortness of our existence is becoming very real. It is becoming the new normal, at least for me….but I believe for my brothers and sisters as well.
If we have no place to stand from, something to believe in this can be a terrifying place to live from because of the absurdity of it all. For I believe we fear the suffering and death of those we love, more than we do about our own aging process. Faith I believe gives us the strength to face life and to live out what must be passed through. It is not about pie in the sky, but about understanding the importance of this life and how dark periods do not steal our peace:
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Ps 23:4
The concept of being a pilgrim is often lost in our modern society. That our lives are a journey and on that journey, we will experience love, loss, sorrow, joy, peace and a whole slew of experience that will draw out of us choices in what we do and how to react. On a pilgrimage, there is no real resting place, but a journey that must be taken. What we do with that is our own choice. Grace is offered, freely, will we accept it or nor? This is a place of struggle, of failure, of new beginnings and it is grace and the love of God that brings us home, I believe. So hope is always available, all we need to do is open up our hearts. Sometimes that is very difficult, for an open heart is a trusting one.
Holy Spirit Monastery
