When my husband\u2019s Aunt Myrtle was 90 we were encouraging her to spend some of her hard, earned money on things she had always wanted.\u00a0 She said, \u201cOh, no! I couldn\u2019t do that.\u00a0 I\u2019m saving that for my old age.\u201d\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have the heart to tell her we thought 90 was pretty old.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year the Pew Research Center<\/a>\u00a0conducted a survey on aging.\u00a0 Most respondents under 30 thought you were old by the time you reached 60.\u00a0 Those middle-aged thought it was 70.\u00a0 Those 65 thought it was 75.\u00a0 According to Aunt Myrtle old age was always ten years older than what we really are.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Because people are living longer, determining old age isn\u2019t as easy as counting how many birthdays you\u2019ve had.\u00a0 It depends on other factors such as:\u00a0 no longer being able to safely drive a car, failing health, loss of sex drive, or not being able to live independently?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, survey responders confirmed that you are never too old to feel young.\u00a0 98 year-old Ida Ruth Hayes Greene <\/a>would agree.\u00a0 Raised on a Georgia farm, she never got to finish high school.\u00a0 When her mother died she had to drop out and help raise her ten younger siblings.\u00a0 Recently she fulfilled her life long dream by passing the test to receive her high school diploma.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some others who made major accomplishments in their golden years:<\/p>\n In the Delany Sisters\u2019 follow up book, The Delany Sisters\u2019 Book of Everyday Wisdom,<\/em> they advise people to stay active \u2013 mentally and physically.\u00a0 It seems to be a key to feeling younger longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most of us will probably not swim the English Channel, set marathon records, or find a cure for cancer in our senior years (or even our younger years).\u00a0 But there is something wonderful in aging gracefully, finding ways to serve others, and living a full, rich life. As Abraham Lincoln said, \u201cIn the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n My advice to the young is not to diminish the value of the aged for they have much to contribute.\u00a0 Get to know and respect them (Leviticus 19:32).\u00a0 Gray hair is a glorious crown (Proverbs 16:31).\u00a0<\/p>\n The plea of the elderly is found in Psalm 71:9. \u201cDo not cast me away when I\u2019m old…\u201d<\/p>\n And may we all live long enough to be old (Deuteronomy 5:33)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When my husband\u2019s Aunt Myrtle was 90 we were encouraging her to spend some of her hard, earned money on things she had always wanted.\u00a0 She said, \u201cOh, no! I couldn\u2019t do that.\u00a0 I\u2019m saving that for my old age.\u201d\u00a0 … Continue reading \n