Psalm 71
"Even while I am old and gray, do not abandon me"
I'm 57. I started this blog in 2007, when I was 40. Time has passed. Sixty is right around the corner, and it's starting to feel like, at ACU, I'm entering the final stage of my career. Ten more years to go. And time flies so fast.
In 2007 I used to wear my hair long. It was...a look. But over the last few years I've started to cut my hair short. People who haven't seen me in a while need a beat to recognize me. They're looking for a long-haired hippie. "Why did you cut your hair?!" they exclaim and ask. Well, because I'm losing it. That's why.
They say that 50 is the new 40, so I'm not suggesting that 57 is in anyway "old." But at 57 you do start to notice the time. I'm not constantly looking at the clock, but I've started to glance at it.
Psalm 71 is a prayer for the aging, asking for God's continued presence, help, and provision:
God, you have taught me from my youth,
and I still proclaim your wondrous works.
Even while I am old and gray,
God, do not abandon me,
while I proclaim your power
to another generation,
your strength to all who are to come.
This week in my "Theology of Everything" series I cited Maximus the Confessor. He described how we put our dying to use for our sanctification. Put my dying to use. I think about that a lot. A person once shared with me that "it takes a lifetime to become a human being." Aging is a huge part of that process, and I'm only just starting on that journey. I feel so late to this game of becoming a human being. So many virtues still to acquire.
O God, you have taught me from my youth. I still proclaim your wondrous works. As the clock ticks, do not abandon me. Let me, here at 57, proclaim your power to another generation.
Amen. Funny to think that I started my Substack at 40. I also desire to declare God's story to the next generation. You're definitely passing something good on to me, Richard. Thank you for your faithful writing and witness from afar.
I’m ten years your senior, and I didn’t start to “feel my age” until this last year when it seems like things started falling apart physically, mentally, and, even, spiritually. Maybe it has to do with that “three score and ten” deal. Or maybe that’s just how it goes. This Psalm today is especially poignant to me. On a less serious matter, I’m growing my hair out because I can and because I’d like to be buried or cremated with a pony tail. 😎