Am I Ready for Old Age?

One day you will get old.

Not convinced? Well, let's do a check. How old are you now? And have you always been this age?

See what I mean? Our clocks are ticking!🕑⏳

So What Changes Should We Expect in Old Age?

The changes that take place as we age can be divided into different categories - physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual.

Physical Changes of Aging

These include gray hair, wrinkles, sagging skin, muscle shrinkage, weaker bones, weight gain, constipation, weaker bladder, vaginal dryness, reduced sex drive, vision and hearing loss, tooth decay, lower mental sharpness and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

What Can You Do?

Most medical professionals recommend the following habits to help you deal with the physical challenges of old age:

1. Be physically and mentally active everyday. 
2. Have a healthy lifestyle involving sufficient sleep, reduced stress, not smoking, restricting alcohol intake, and socializing.
3. Eat a variety of healthy foods, especially reducing processed food intake, and increasing fresh fruits and vegetables.

Emotional Changes of Aging

Aging comes with certain circumstances that can make you sad. One cause of sadness in aging is the increasing incidence of death and chronic illnesses among friends and family members. 

Emotional disturbance also comes from loneliness due to children growing up and leaving home.

If we'll be brutally honest, there can also be sadness about the physical challenges associated with advanced age. Let's not forget the fear of being dependent on others, and last but not least, the fear of dying. 

How Can You Prepare for Emotional Challenges in Aging?

The Bible is our guide for this one. Although children may leave, and loved ones may pass on, if you follow Hebrews 10:25, you will have strong emotional support.

It's also good advice to ENJOY your spouse and children now! 

And of course, learn from now as a young Christian woman, to take comfort from the Lord in all situations. That habit will come in handy when you experience grief in your later years.

Financial Changes of Aging

Your financial status can change for the better or worse as you advance in age. 

Things can get better if you no longer have children to care for, like their education and the extra bills they run up in your home. (Y'all know that's the truth!) If you had long-term investments, they may also reach maturity at this stage.

However, your finances can take a turn for the worse if you cannot work anymore and there is no retirement fund. 

What Can You Do About Financial Challenges of Aging?

If you already have a pension plan, for example by working with the government, this might not be an issue for you. Some of us may even have a retirement package from a financial institution or a private corporation you work for. 

However, if you don't have one, prayerfully explore options for a pension plan 🤗.

Here are some other tips:

1. Avoid unnecessary loans.
2. Clear up debts quickly.
3. Be wiser about spending money. Buy items that will last, that you can repair, and that have resale value. (I know someone who is stuck with a house in a failed development😮!)
4. Look for ways to cut expenses, for example, growing your own vegetables and herbs, saving your own seeds, and raising livestock with food scraps👍🏽.

Spiritual Changes to Expect in Old Age

Aging can either be a time of spiritual wealth or falling away.

With more time on hand, you will have time to pray more, read the Bible, and serve in your fellowship. You will have years of experiences and testimonies to remember, and to pass on to the next generations (Titus 2:3-5). 

The Bible also promises that "...old men shall dream dreams..." (Acts 2:17), a testament to how the Holy Spirit will still want to use you in old age.

But, the same Bible warns us with the example of Solomon. He departed from the Lord in his old age! (1 Kings 11:4)

My fellow Christian damsels, let us abide in Christ to the end.

Scriptures for Old Age

Now, here are some Bible verses to memorise, pray into, and take comfort in about becoming old🤗:

• And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4)
• Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. (Psalm 71:9)
• Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing. (Psalm 92:13-14)

So, there you have it my fellow Christian damsels! Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing (hint, hint😉) 🌺🌸💐💖🥳🤗! 

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