AND IT WAS GOOD

One of the harsh realities of growing older is the fact that the body will not allow us to do what we were able to do even a few short years before. Getting down on the floor is now difficult. Getting up from the position is even more so. It is a painful reminder, both mental and physical, that growing older, even in good health, has its drawbacks. However, there is much good that comes amidst this pain.

A close friend of mine sent me the following words of reminder and wisdom: “Most seniors never get enough exercise. So, in his wisdom, God decreed that seniors would become forgetful and they would have to search for their glasses, keys, and other misplaced things, and move around more. And God looked down and saw that it was good. Then God saw there was yet another need. So God in his wisdom made seniors lose coordination so that they would drop things, which would require them to bend and reach and stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good.

“Then God considered the functioning of senior bladders and decided that in His wisdom there would be calls of nature more frequently, requiring more walking to the relief station, which would burn calories. God looked down and saw that it was good. Seniors were obliged to exercise more from these senior shortcomings and did become more active as a result. So if you find you are required to get up and down more as you age, remember it's God's will and in your best interest, even though you mutter under your breath. Amen! Let it be! And it is good.”

Finding the good in the bad or in the not-so-good is almost always difficult because when we are in pain, be it physical or mental or both, the pain tends to block our ability to look for the good. That in and of itself is not so good because it prevents us from discovering that which can and would ease the pain.

All this is akin to Nathaniel’s Gospel question when he is told that Jesus just might be the Messiah and that Jesus comes from Nazareth: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” The response was: “Come and see.” That is the same response we need to hear when we ask, “Can anything good come from this pain, this loss of mobility, this whatever-it-is that reminds me that I am growing older and will never again be able to do that which I once could?”

Come and see. Look for it. There is always some good to be found in the bad, the loss, the pain, the suffering. It may not be easy to discover just what that good is at that moment in time because we are momentarily a little overwhelmed by the reality at hand. But it is there somewhere and we have to find it else the pain and loss will control our lives and make the present and future even more difficult.

Life is a journey through good times and bad. When the road gets difficult as it always will sooner or later, we have to look for what is good in the bad, in the pain. At this point in my life bending down is difficult and getting up from getting down hurts, but at least I can still do so. That is good. Thank God for the good.