THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023 - SENIOR STORIES

 THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023 - SENIOR STORIES

This week I gave three stories - primarily true.  

But, I find myself in a corner.  Every one of us is going to die.  Losing weight, exercising, stopping smoking, keeping the brain sharp, and being active - are all good - but someday - we will die.

Joke:

My Uncle Max had a quiet death.  He died in his sleep.  Unfortunately, the 50 passengers on his bus that day had terrible deaths as the bus went over the cliff and into the deep river.

Reality:

If I had my options, I’d like to go quickly - a massive heart attack in my sleep—even a gunshot through the brain or heart (from somebody else - not suicide).

But we have all seen friends with cancer, ALS, and other withering diseases that slowly take the body away.  The brain is often there, but the body just can’t make it.  

And, sometimes, the brain fails - with dementia, Alzheimer's, or other mental illnesses taking over.  

Again, we are all going to die.

*****

So, what are your reasons to live?  Do you have reasons?

I want to see my grandchildren graduate from high school and college, marry, and have children.  I want to love my family deeply and unconditionally. My grandchildren are 9 and 10.  (On October 1st, all five of my grandchildren will be ten years old).  So, let’s give them 15 years to get their lives together - so they will all be 25, and I’ll be 90!!  I want to get to their band concerts, choir concerts, plays, athletic events, 4H events, church events, and whatever.  

I want to promote “LOVE WINS.”   

(A big aside:)

For the last week, my brain has been teasing me.   “Run for congress” - huh????  Our local U.S. congressman is 81 and has been in Congress for 20 years.  In the last election, nobody ran against him - he was unopposed.  Somebody should run against him.  I’m willing to be a “sacrificial lamb” and run against him (assume he runs again).  I want to “preach” LOVE WINS - and why not start with the local Congressman - who proclaims that he is a Christian and yet wants to ban people from entering our country (I think we have a mandate from the encryption on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

This Congressman is probably a good guy - but maybe a new face and a slight (very slight) challenge from a 75 years old transgender woman might wake him up a little.  

(I can’t quite picture myself on the floor of Congress.  But with a current President who is 80, a former President who is 77, and a congressman who is 81, I’d be young at 75!!)

*****

Back to the point - we are all going to die.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21-24, “ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”  

“To live (be alive) means walking with Jesus, and to die - walking with Jesus in Heaven.”  

I have a calling and mission: to proclaim LOVE - God’s AGAPE love - love beyond bounds.  Perfect Love, Unconditional Love. 

*****

But I have seen people giving up.  One of my former patients at the nursing home has given up on life.  If there was an assisted suicide, he would have chosen that a while back.  And, honestly, his brain is still strong; he could teach (or even “preach”).  I’ve seen others make that tough choice to lose weight to become healthy again.

We all decide on our end goals in life.

Do I want to be a viable voice for LOVE WINS - in that case, get better at loving people, Karen!!  I need to do that; I want to do that. I need to be physically strong - so keep exercising, Karen.  

In the past, I have written about the suggested things to keep going for seniors - brain activities (like bridge, languages, puzzles, reading); social activities; spiritual activities; sound finances; good friends; good health; regular doctor visits; 

BUT - maybe the most important is our attitude.  I WANT TO BE A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF SOCIETY!!!

LOVE DOES WIN

LOVE DOES TRANSFORM

LOVE CHANGES A PERSON

LOVE CHANGED ME

KAREN ANNE WHITE ©, AUGUST 17, 2023