How do you know when you're getting older?

Yesterday I squatted down to clean something off the bottom of the door and when I stood up I realized something was wrong with my back. Actually I groaned! or did I yell? I'm not sure but it got me to thinking about getting older.

It's hard to think of yourself as old - or even old - er because there's this young spirit inside you. But here are some clues.
You notice that people start offering the senior rate to you.

Your body begins to close down earlier at night, you can't keep going as long as you used to and you can't do things as quickly as in earlier years.

You start getting these brown spots that one Dr. called barnacles of old age. - in your 60's! Shouldn't that wait to happen in your 90's?

Wrinkles and things sagging. You get a new wrinkle and a new gray hair - is it every year or every month? AND they say that your ear lobes keep growing as long as you live. What will that look like?


Your feet and your back don't like it when you stand too long. Some knees and hips just give up altogether!

Then there's the hairs that grow out of your ears and nose and chin but won't grow on top of your head.

And what about those words that get lost somewhere in your brain?

You give up trying to learn the newest thing:

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Iphones and Ipods

- and why do you need to learn this? You can get any information or the answer to any question on Google!

There's bifocals, trifocals and then the magnifying glass!

Some people say that you start out with diapers and you end up with them.

Do you know the song, Stand By Me by Charles A. Tindley?

When the storms of life are raging stand by me.

When the storms of life are raging stand by me.

When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea,

Thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me.

Then the last verse is perfect for this morning:

When I'm growing old and feeble, stand by me.

When I'm growing old and feeble, stand by me.

When my life becomes a burden, and I'm nearing chilly Jordan,

O Thou "Lilly of the Valley," stand by me.

The words of Deuteronomy 31:6 are especially poignant for times when we're feeling this way:

Be strong and courageous. . . the LORD your God goes with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you.

So keep smiling.