Seniors, Move Forward Into Your Future

The average age of life expectancy across the globe is 72. That is pretty sobering for people like me who are 75. This causes me to look backward and ask, “What have I done with my life?” However, it also is cause for making the most of the time I have left. If you are a senior, this article is for you.

As you look back over your life remind yourself of all the times your needs have been met, you have been protected from harm, you had wisdom for solving a difficult situation or had victory over some addiction. You have made it through all these decades without an accident or illness that has taken your life. Were there moments when you possibly were only a few minutes away from death, but because of timing you were spared? You were not at the wrong place at the wrong time. Some kind of delay was caused, but if you had been on schedule, you would have been in a tragic or even deadly accident, or the victim of some crime. Do you really believe that all these things were luck or coincidence? There is another dimension to physical existence.

The vast majority of people believe in God. Many of those believe that God is involved in the affairs of humanity, even on a personal level. How else can one explain having peace in times of turmoil, grace in times of need, security in times of conflict, or answers to prayer? Have there been times, looking back on your life, when one opportunity closed but another one opened? Have you had circumstances when it was evident that something, or “someone” was working “behind the scenes” to resolve a situation over which you had no control? Perhaps something came together in such a way that you wondered how it was possible. With all of this it is surprising and unfortunate how many seniors have gone through their entire life and not recognized that there is a Higher Power” at work.

Seniors, may you come to recognize, if you have not already done so, that there is a God who has made it possible for you to live into your senior years. Thank him! Remember his grace over all your years. Your life has not been based on luck.

With all your past behind you, move forward into your future. Write a new chapter for your life. What would you write about yourself in the years you have left? What will people say about you? Live your life intentionally with purpose and vision. Don’t allow yourself to drift. Make greater goals. Dream bigger dreams. Take more steps of bold faith. See yourself used in more effective ways. Envision yourself doing new things and going to new places. What lights a fire in your heart? Finish this sentence: “I have always had a passion to…?

Whatever you plan, don’t sell yourself short. There does not have to be a gap between where you are and where you could have been. The next chapter in your life can be any length you choose. Remember, though, that if you are 60 and live to be 90, that is a long time to do nothing of significance. May you be able to say that your senior years were the best. You finished strong in body, mind, and spirit.

Put your past to good use. How valuable is your life to those who follow? How can what you have been through be of benefit to others? The answer to these questions can determine your next chapter. Chart a new course for your life. Things won’t just happen. This will also add a new vision and vitality to your senior years. It will help you keep “young at heart.” It could even prolong your life! Write that new chapter. Ten or twenty years from now you will be glad you did.

I will close with my life verse: “To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us”((Ephesians 3:20).

(Much of the content of this article was taken from my book, “Seniors, Are You Retiring or Recharging” Trafford Publishing, 2016, pages 29-32).