“When the Israelites entered the last part of their journey out of Egypt, God said to them through Moses, ‘I have set before you life and death. . . . Now choose life'” (Deuteronomy 30:19).  In her book Aging Faithfully, author and Bible teacher Alice Fryling notes, “As I age, some days it feels easier than others to choose God’s life-giving ways. Some days, I am content with the changes that aging brings. Other days I complain and resist. On the more difficult days, I remember something else God said through Moses: ‘Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”’[1]  I’m so glad God said that. Alice assures us that in our later years, we can still be the older person God has designed us to be. His Word will guide us.

Then Alice adds this challenging thought: “But learning to choose life means that I have much to unlearn. . . . I want to unlearn my compulsive belief that I need to earn God’s love. I want to unlearn my belief that I am responsible to meet everyone’s needs. I hope someday to unlearn my persistent belief that I must impress God, myself, or other people with who I am and what I do. I want to unlearn the value I place on productivity, busyness, and constant activity” [end quote].[2]

Do those words ring a bell with you? The pressure to live to impress is so strong in our culture. Don’t forget, though, that as we age, God’s expectations of us are fitted to our declining energy and abilities. Yes, Alice reassures us that doing God’s will is not beyond our reach—even in our older years.

[1] Alice Fryling, Aging Faithfully (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, 2021), 7-8.

[2] Alice Fryling, Aging Faithfully, 8.