Heart Hope by Olga

Does anyone remember the Peter Pan song where he sings, “I won’t grow up…I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up, No sir, Not I, Not me, So there!” Those were my thoughts as I biked the 14 mile trail through the Glenwood Canyon. With beauty surrounding me, friends beside me and the sun shining on me I felt like a kid. And I didn’t want to grow up or grow old. For some of you that might seem comical because you already think of me as being old…after all the number associated with my age is well past the half-century mark, I have multiple grandchildren and am closer to retirement than I care to think, but I feel young at heart. When I think of my grandparents, I remember them as old--they looked old and acted old. Why is that? It’s not the number associated with my age or the fear of getting old, it’s that I don’t want to give up enjoying life, trying new things and serving God. The Bible promises us that we can be productive into the twilight year...

My mother is one of the servants in God’s kingdom that uses her gifts that often times go unnoticed. She loves people and has a way of making them feel special. At 85 years of age, she still works at the food pantry, sacking groceries for the needy in Jackson, MS. She has worked with a prison ministry as a mentor for women who have been incarcerated, but have been released to a halfway house. She has assisted them with finding jobs, buying clothes and even taught them about meal planning and cooking.  Mother’s ongoing job for her church is to visit the shut-ins. At one time they were all much older than she was, but now many of them are her peers. Mother will load up her arms with devotional books and special holiday treats to disperse to the ladies and sometimes men in assisted living or nursing homes. Recently while Mother was visiting an old college friend, the mother of a childhood friend of mine who has Alzheimer’s walked over to insist that mother call her daughter to come ...