Aging

"Aging is not for the faint of heart."

"I will never regret getting old.  I know too many people who never had that privilege."

Both quotes are true!  Yet, they almost seem polar opposite sentiments.  Now that I am officially getting old, err older, I realize more and more how fragile life is.  But, I know some very strong people that are getting older.  

In the past couple months, I have heard of several acquaintances or relatives of acquaintances that have died.  They were all younger than me.  They were denied the privilege of getting older. Right now, my prayer list consist of four people with cancer, all my age or older.  Another person with Valley Fever complications and another with Blood Loss complications.  They are fighters and are not faint of heart.  How many more months or years do they have?  

Why?  Why do some die young and other live long lives?  Some of those who live long lives are burdened with ill health and others are not.  Some die even though they have done the "right" things, eat well and exercise.  People are often flabbergasted when they die, much younger than expected.  Others live a long life and have done the "wrong" things, smoking and excessive drinking.  People are often flabbergasted when they die, much older than expected. You may have noticed that I am referring to the physical health of these people.  There is another aspect of our health that affects our livelihood, emotional. 

Emotion: state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.
How do we react and interact with others?   How much does that affect the number of days on this earth?   The lack of emotional well-being (health) may lead to addictive behaviors, suicide, or broken relationships.  An emotionally healthy person may react to a disease in a different way than someone else and therefore, may live longer.  

Regardless of our physical or emotional health, or lack thereof, our days are numbered.  The Bible says in Job 14:5,  "Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass."  The "you" is referring to God.  

If you believe or don't believe in God and His determining our days, that fact remains that our days are still numbered.  It may come down to being healthy in all ways and your time on earth ends in accident.  We just don't know, do we?  Another saying is "Live your life as if today is your last."  My hubby's motto is "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first."