DAILY Devotion

Aging Outside the Box

By Shirley W. Mitchell
Guest Columnist

CBN.com -- The popular phrase “think outside the box” gave me the idea to “age outside the box,” living with power, style and vitality.

Satisfy us in our earliest youth with your loving-kindness, giving us constant joy to the end of our lives. (Psalms 90:14 – TLB)

Many people over 50, with their toes barely inside the new millennium, are discovering ageless living and endless energy. They are neither imprisoned in the past, nor refusing to embrace the present. People who are aging outside the box do not fear the future, but rather capture each moment as an opportunity to learn, to grow, to become increasingly all that they were designed to be.

Power

Think of the people in your life who are aging with power. There is power in living through the Word of God, The Holy Bible. Rev. Rick Warren has taken me and millions of people deeper into the understanding of having power through the bible with his book The Purpose Driven Life. Hopefully, as we age, we enjoy spiritual maturity as we live in God’s abundance.

There is power in the blood of Jesus. My stuttering Paw Paw (Grandfather), who is now walking the street of gold, sang with gusto, “There’s Power In The Blood,” directing our church choir. He loved to sing, because he did not stutter while singing. As a ten-year-old girl, my Paw Paw put me in his church choir. I vividly recall him turning red in the face as he belted out his song, “THERE’S POWER IN THE BLOOD, POWER IN THE BLOOD!” That song and my Paw Paw implanted forever in my heart and head that the power of the blood of Jesus IS above all powers.

There is also power as many aspects of aging become positive. It is possible older people may have more financial flexibility to glorify God. With an empty nest, many are experiencing more self-time and time to enjoy one’s passions. It’s a good time to start a new career, enjoy a hobby, or live and travel to a geographical area of one’s choice.

Style

What style of life has God planted inside your DNA? Many times, as we age, we flow into the life God has planned for us. My passions are God, family, Country, writing, speaking and traveling. I feel I have lived many years to get into my flow of life that feels good in my spirit. I am enthusiastic about my style of aging. Your style of life will certainly be personalized.

Life in Christ is unfading,

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not whither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalms 1:3 KJV)

Vitality

(1) The power to live and develop.
(2) Power of continuing in force of effect.
(3) Physical or mental energy. (Webster’s Contemporary Dictionary)

And Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. (Deuteronomy 34:7 KJV)

Wow! Moses enjoyed vitality in his later years.

The 76 million baby boomers are focusing on aging with vitality! In their quest for the fountain of youth, they are changing the way we age. They have learned that exercise is the golden egg of aging. It slows down aging by positively effecting your cardiovascular system, your immune system, your musculoskeletal system, and your emotional well-being. Exercise rekindles and re-sparks our fire for live.

Fighting aging is all about high self-esteem and self-confidence, feeling good about yourself, and living a happy balanced life.

By the end of this century, more people will be over 50 than under in thiscountry. It’s important that we age outside the box, with power, style, and vitality.

Books by Shirley Mitchell and Jane Rubietta:

Fabulous After 50: Finding Fulfillment for Tomorrow

Sensational After 60: Life on the Other Side of Mid-Life Struggles

More Devotions on Spiritual Life

DAILY Devotion

Aging Outside the Box

By Shirley W. Mitchell Guest Columnist

By Shirley W. Mitchell
Guest Columnist