Cindy and I designed our house from the ground up……Cindy more than me. We made some mistakes…….but, all in all, it has served us well. We and our sons have lived most of our lives in this house. There is a back hallway from the garage into the house. It is no surprise that this is how 95% of the people entering our house come in. There is even a plaque that says “back door guests are best”.
The layout of the house is open and expansive. The family room has a 25 foot cathedral ceiling and flows into the kitchen, breakfast room, foyer, and an open loft. The ceilings throughout the house are 9 feet. The only exception is the back hallway……the entrance hallway…….the first thing that you see. We specified 7 foot ceilings for the entrance hallway…..and for all of the rooms on that hallway. It is tight……almost claustrophobic. It is a place that you only go into when you have a job to do……like the laundry.
What……you may ask…..were we thinking?
The cramped entrance hallway opens into the large family room. The transition is stunning. The tiny hall makes the open spaces beyond it even bigger……and more inviting. Nobody “hangs out” in the back hallway…….ever. The back hall is just a place that you pass through to get to the nice places beyond. The claustrophobic back hallway sets up a contrast. It makes the open spaces beyond even more striking.
So…….back to old age. Cindy and I are in our 70’s. And, if you haven’t figured it out yet, we have been truly blessed.
But, what is old age about?
Pain…….just about everything hurts……especially in the morning.
Cancer
Heart disease
Liver disease
Osteoporosis
Dizziness
Declining senses of smell, sight, and hearing.
We write a lot of stuff down.
We often say, “I wish I knew what I know now but had the body I had in my 20”s”.
But, maybe this is a part of God’s plan. Maybe the shrinking of my physical horizons is like the back hallway in my house. God promises that when I die, the list of problems…….complaints…….that I just wrote down will go away…….forever. Maybe my temporary discomfort today is there to contrast with the physical joy of paradise. Maybe, my morning stiffness is like walking through my back hallway……..on my way to the family room.
From now on, this will be my meditation……..when I am dealing with the aggravations of old age. God is just getting me mentally and emotionally prepared……..for paradise.
Old age…….is just a place that you must go through……to get to the really nice place beyond.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
David, Psalms18:19, ESV
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:16, ESV
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Paul, Phillipines 1:6, ESV
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
God, Isaiah 46:3-4, ESV
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus, John 14:2-3, ESV