Dear editor:
Isn't life a wondrous adventure with all of its ups and downs, twists and turns, hopes and fears, triumphs and disappointments! Then one day something happens, at least it did to me that cause me to examine where I'm at in this wondrous adventure and how I got there. You see I was told that I was of an age group that was not being "targeted" with the insinuation that I was old, maybe to old to understand. It opened my eyes to look and question my stage and station in life, not only how I viewed myself but how others viewed me. I couldn't help but wonder, am I really old? I don't see myself as old but?
OK, I'm a pre-baby boomer a product of WW II, born just a short 80 yrs. after the end of the Civil War.
The scripture starts in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 by saying, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted" and continues on about life's times and purpose. It's a wonderful chapter in a book the many believe was written by King Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever live.
I come from a genetic linage that has blessed many of my relatives with a long life. I keep think back, am I of an age (old), not targeted (makes me feel useless/unwanted), do I have any worth or value, really am I ready for the bone yard? So I wondered what the scriptures have to say, what is the length of a season, how long is a generation; does it apply to us today?
Psalm 90:10 says, "the days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, ", hummmm maybe I'm not done for yet and the Lord still has some use for me! One never knows for sure there length of their days or the path the Lord has laid out in front of them, that path just might be the one that brings forth understanding and gives a reason/purpose/meaning for their total existence.
So, as soon as I get up from my nap I think I'll put on a pair of "Depends", have a shot of 'Geritol" (I am a target of these two manufactures) and take my motorcycle for a ride and view some of God's creation. So, all of you "Cotton Tops" out there have a good and blessed day, you still are valuable.
Sincerely
James A. Gillette, Jr.
Clarendon