“I don’t feel any different - I can’t believe I’m 90!”
That comment - with varying changes to the number - is not uncommon. I have heard it repeatedly from those whom others would describe as old. Currently, my mother-in-law is slowly coming to terms with her increasing frailty at 93, although she seems to be constantly surprised by it.
It is hard to lose your independence and control. I say to her that it will be my turn one day. There is no escaping the relentless progress of time and decay: "Meaningless, meaningless" says the Teacher in Ecclesiastes using the multi-layered Hebrew word hevel (meaning passing/transient/fleeting). The voice in Ecclesiastes is like a relentless drumbeat throughout the book - nothing lasts forever, remember you will die - learn about life from visiting the funeral parlour.
To what degree should a Christian engage with the news?
How much responsibility do we have to know what is happening around us?I have a relative in Australia who …