They say getting older is not for sissies, and I have to agree. I appreciate every day the Lord gives me, but the added years also have added challenges. Not only can we no longer do many of the things we used to enjoy, suddenly everyday tasks seem to take more time and energy. Getting on the floor to play with the grand kids is no longer an option. (we might get down, but getting back up is a whole other story). I’d love to spend a day shopping like I used to… but to shop till I drop now takes about forty-five minutes.
People today are obsessed with all things new, especially when it comes to electronics. I-phones and I-pads… and I have had it. Everything I own is old and holds a memory I cherish. I hear a lot of: “Grandma you need to get rid of this thing; it’s so old.”
“I’m older than it is,” I reply, “I suppose you’ll have to get rid of me too.”
I recently came across on Facebook an excerpt from a children’s book by Shel Silverstein titled, ‘The Giving Tree.’ It’s the story of an apple tree and a little boy. The tree loves seeing the boy happy and having him around to eat her apples and play in her branches. As the boy gets older, he spends less time with the tree; finally only coming around when he needs something the tree can give: apples to sell, branches to build a house, and a trunk to build a boat.
The boy returns as an old man and the tree sadly tells him, “I have nothing left to give, no apples to eat, no branches to swing in and no trunk to climb. I’m just an old stump.”
“I’m too old for all that anyway,” the boy says. “I don’t need much, just a place to sit and rest.” Excited to be useful again, the tree offers herself (an old stump). The boy sits down and both are happy again.
According to the comments, many people loved this story, while others hated it. The selfishness of the boy stood out for some, and the tree’s love for giving impressed others. Many thought the tree should have set boundaries. The message I got from the story is that we never out-live our usefulness. God has a plan and a place for us as long He allows us to live here. The tree was a cheerful giver, just as we are told to be…with never a thought of what it might get in return.
We might be old, but we’re not useless. God has a place for us to serve…maybe just in a different way. Once we retire from the rat race, we get the cheese. Many writers, photographers, artists, and crafters never knew they had such talents until they grew older. I like to remind myself that Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the Little House on the Prairie books, didn’t get them published till in her sixties.
Time is precious, especially to those of us who have used so much of it up already. Let’s not waste it. May we not see ourselves as useless old stumps, but as a resting place for those searching for God’s truth. We have stories to tell, hearts to mend, and the rest of our lives for giving hope to those who need to hear about Jesus.