“Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], “I have no enjoyment and delight in them”; before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars are darkened [by impaired vision], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];in the day when the keepers of the house (hands, arms) tremble, and the strong men (feet, knees) bow themselves, and the grinders (molar teeth) cease because they are few, and those (eyes) who look through the windows grow dim.” (Ephesians 12:1-3 Amplified Version)
Back In my paperboy days, I remember when we were sent out canvassing for what we called “starts.” “Starts” was what we called a successful transaction when you got someone to sign up to receive the newspaper. On one occasion I went to Mrs. Wilson’s house. I remember the name because she politely told me to call her “Mrs. Wilson” instead of “Ma’am.” Complying with her preference, I gave her a promotional flyer that we had been provided with to help persuade potential customers to become actual customers. Mrs. Wilson took my flyer and glanced at it. She seemed to be straining her eyes. She took some glasses that were stuck in her duster, a light housecoat. Mrs. Wilson was a senior citizen and if she wanted to lounge in her duster all day, that was fine with me. The glasses did not help Mrs. Wilson, obvious by how she was squirming and moving the flyer closer, then farther away, and sometimes right up to her face. I was patient. She said, “Son wait a minute. I have to go get something so I can check this out.” I said, “Yes ma’am,” at first, but when she looked down at me, I quickly said, “Yes, Mrs. Wilson.” She left me standing at the door for a few minutes. I could hear her searching in a drawer, apparently in a nearby table. She eventually comes back, and she has her magnifying glass. She reads the flyer, ask a few questions to validate what she had read was true, and in the end, she signed up for the paper. I got a “start.”
As I walked down the street, I was wondering how old I would get before I would have to wear glasses, not to be in style, but because of need. I wondered how long it would be before I would move up to bifocals and trifocals. Well, with the advancement of age, I have gone through single vision lenses all the way to trifocals. And on my desk sits a large magnifying glass. And listen, it is not there just because it has the same chrome finish as the lamp on the desk on which I am sitting right now! It is there because I actually have to use it with some very small print publications and especially the small print on the sales advertisements on the promotional mail that we all receive these days.
The writer in Ecclesiastes was, of course, correct. We will go through physical changes, including our eyesight. Well two more things to tell you, something you should think about anytime you remember the story about “Mrs. Wilson’s Magnifying Glass.” First, keep in mind that we walk by faith and not by sight. Can I get an “Amen” from anybody other than the writer of Hebrews? Second, as time goes on, God will still go with you. Whether you think “old” is 21, 40, 50, 70, or 90, stay with the Lord and you can make David’s statement below, your personal testimony. Have a great start to your week! Have a good start, in this case meaning a beginning. Be blessed!
“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King