Image courtesy of stockimages/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
On Tuesday I opened a letter from the Federal Government. I didn’t know if they were writing to tell me they were no longer operational, were going to take away or decrease my social security, or just wanted to tell me the price of stamps was going up again. I experienced a “reality slap” when I discovered my very own Medicare card in the packet they’d sent me. Although I have over three months before I hit that big “65” milestone, receiving my own Medicare card was still a reminder that one day at a time I am aging.
Perhaps that guided the selection of the daily bible verse I made for my church’s Face Book page this morning:
“My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
PSALM 73: 26 (NKJV)
I know I am aging, and I know my society frowns on that part of living. In fact, my culture seems to view aging as an illness that can be cured if you use the correct make-up, hair dye, weight loss program, and exercise program—–and have multiple age-defying plastic surgeries. One would think it was a crime to have wrinkles around your eyes that show the world you have smiled a lot during your life time. I always told people I’d be proud of my wrinkles when they came—-that I wanted them to show a happy person of long-standing. Now that they have actually arrived on the scene, it is a bit harder to feel that way. However, painful as my joints, etc. can be, I am still very grateful to be aging as it is far better than the alternative. I realize God still has work for me to do one day at a time.
Do I believe this old lady can change the world? No, of course not. But I can create ripples and stitches of kindness and compassion that are sorely needed in our world today. God’s work, for me, is like crocheting. Sometimes I don’t understand the pattern I’m following or where it is taking me. I have no idea what the finished product will look like, but I need to follow the pattern if I wish to achieve the desired result. In crocheting, the finished result is often better than I had imagined. I believe God’s outcome will be awesome; I am just not able to imagine or know what God’s “Tapestry of Time” will look like when it is finished.
Enough rambling for this morning. This will be a short entry as I have to go visit the Social Security folks (if they are open) and have them explain what I am supposed to do with /about the packet they sent me as their printed instructions were unclear even for a nurse with a PhD. Please comment and share your thoughts about today’s blog entry. May God bless and keep you.
Living One Day at a Time 
I hope your Social Security visit went well. I was down there Tuesday with my daughter but could get no answers about her case because the workers told me they weren’t allowed to help us because of the government shutdown. I had to wonder, if there are no approved funds to pay you to work, who is paying you to be here to tell us that?
I just happen to come across this post while looking for something else. I appreciate your writing. Well worded that our lives are a “tapestry of time”. You are inspiring. Thank you for sharing your heart and, most of all, for not giving up or getting stuck in the aging process. Each day you have, you add value to it….simply by looking at what you can do and not what you can’t do. You are still impacting others…be it a ripple or by a stitch of kindness. Thank you for sharing your heart and persevering spirit. From another writer’s heart to yours (and a nurse who is now a stay-at-home Mom), I am blessed for coming across your posting.
Thank you—-your words mean a lot—–especially coming from another nurse and writer!