Aging Gracefully According to God's PlanSample

THE GLORY BEHIND THE CROWN OF AGING

I realize that not everyone who ages will relate to this day’s devotional, yet I hope to paint the picture clearly through words.

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6

I was 49.5 years old when my first grandchild was born and 3 years later I became a grandmother for the second time. Twenty-four years later, my first grandchild married, giving me another grandchild through marriage. When I was 77 years old my grandson and his wife made me a great-grandmother for the first time.

There are no words to express the inner feelings of being a grandparent. Being a grandparent is watching your legacy birth in front of you.

When I think of my legacy and generations before me, I understand what I learned from my parents and from my grandparents who were gone before I was born. My earthly daddy was good about sharing with his children the lessons his father taught him: morals, values, hard work, who we are, and why our last names were so important.

No, not everyone has grandchildren, but everyone has had a parent and grandparent. There is beauty in a legacy when the legacy is one that has honored God. If you come from a family that did not; it isn’t too late for you to start your legacy and make a difference in the lives of others.

I have a dear friend who passed away 4 years ago at age 87. This gentleman never married and never had children. He lived his life with a disabled arm but never allowed it to disable him. His beauty was his character and although he didn’t have children, and never became a grandparent, he left a lasting legacy to every human he met. He gave of himself, his time, and finances all his life to better the community in which he lived. Beauty is far more than our hair, skin, and body shape; our beauty comes from the heart!

PRACTICE: Learn to accept that beauty comes from within!

PRAYER: Thank You, God, that You look at our heart to judge who we are! In Jesus’ Name. Amen