REFLECTIONS

Aging

Some days bring little surprises that seem to come from the ordinary; yet they feel so very special. Recently one of those special blessings came my way.

            Hitting golf balls on the practice range was once a regular exercise for me, but with aging the activity happens less often. But on those days, like this one, I often found myself alongside my friend, Ray. Our conversation, though, drifted far from golf into the realm of life we call aging. He expressed the joy and the pain that comes with life; and I felt blessed as he stood with moist eyes looking straight into mine and began to recite his story through a heartfelt poem he wrote. With his consent, we share it here.

Aging
it is just amazing how the years/ go by so fast/ why, I’ve got less in my future/ than I have in my past

but looking back/ at all those years/ I can see a lot more laughter/ than I see tears

oh , I’m sad for my brother and others/ who’s lives were short and never knew/ the joy of hearing a child whisper/ grandma, grandpa I love you

I have learned that true happiness/ comes from within/ I can’t tell you exactly where I’m going/ but I can tell you where I’ve been

years ago my heart was broken, but how can a heart not break/ when a child dies, it seems so wrong/ yet that same broken heart would not give while battling a horrific cancer/ it gave compassion and made me strong

and there is an aging man that lives in my mirror/ that looks so much like my father/ and I recall so vividly, with reverence/ the teachings and love of my mother

oh , there are aches and pains and illnesses that seem to come with aging/ but aging is a gift and I’m happy for me/ because every day I inch ever closer to being/ the man that God intended me to be

ray cevallos

There it was, right from Ray’s heart, the God given gift of aging even with all its pain. Ray had a story to tell—a story of God’s love for him. It was a blessing to hear it right from his layman’s heart. And we should be willing to tell ours too. Your story may seem ordinary to you. But it just might be a special blessing in someone else’s day.

You are the light of the world,

Richard  +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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