From Dry Bones to Living Hope: Embracing God’s Faithfulness in Late Life
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About this ebook
Each chapter of From Dry Bones to Living Hope opens with an intimate, prayerful lament to God from the perspective of the older adult who longs for spiritual renewal and purpose. The authentic voice of lament establishes credibility with older readers who yearn for others to empathize with their struggles. The second part of each chapter, "Cultivating Hope," guides them to God's perspective on aging and specific actions they can take that lead to hope and joy.
Missy Buchanan
Missy Buchanan, an advocate for older adults, is an internationally recognized author and speaker on issues of aging faithfully. With thousands of followers on Twitter and Facebook, Buchanan provides daily insight and encouragement for the journey of aging. She enjoys weekly visits (digital visits and phone calls during the COVID pandemic) with older adult friends in senior living communities. Buchanan is the author of multiple books, a devotional calendar, and a devotional journal. She lives with her husband, Barry, in Rockwall, TX. They have three adult children and four grandchildren.
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From Dry Bones to Living Hope - Missy Buchanan
FROM DRY BONES TO LIVING HOPE: Embracing God’s Faithfulness in Late Life
Copyright © 2021 by Missy Buchanan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books®, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.
Upper Room Books® website: upperroombooks.com
Upper Room®, Upper Room Books®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations not otherwise identified are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.
Cover design: Emily Weigel
Interior design and typesetting: PerfecType, Nashville, TN
Print ISBN: 978-0-8358-1976-3
Mobi ISBN: 978-0-8358-1977-0
Epub ISBN: 978-0-8358-1978-7
Printed in the United States of America
I dedicate this book to the memory of Paul Hamm,
a longtime friend whose legacy of humility, faithfulness, and compassion
shines as a beacon of light to a weary world.
CONTENTS
Valley of Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37:1-10
Life in the Valley of Dry Bones
Battlefield
Invisible
Exile
When Praise Will Not Come
Temptations in the Wilderness
From Wasteland to Wildflowers
Digital Divide
Remembering
Grief Before Death
Vulnerable in the Valley
The Path to Purpose
Forgiveness
Persistently Patient
Community
Divine Interruptions
Prayer
Wisdom
Finishing Well
Standing on the Promises
VALLEY OF DRY BONES
Ezekiel 37:1-10
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, Mortal, can these bones live?
I answered, O Lord GOD, you know.
Then he said to me, Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.
So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
LIFE IN THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES
Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
—EZEKIEL 37:4
There are days when Ezekiel’s vision is my reality.
A scorched valley stretches out before me as far as my eyes can see.
It is a field littered with the remains of once vibrant lives.
There is no sign of life—only dry bones. Very dry bones.
Everywhere I turn there are worn-out bodies like mine.
Frames beaten down by time. Minds bleached by the years.
In this season of life, my hope has shriveled into nothingness.
How long must I linger in this harsh environment, O Lord?
Without purpose and a reason to live, I am spiritually dead.
Nothing more than a heap of dry bones.
Then, from the hush of the desert, I hear a voice.
Can these bones live?
Lord, you alone know.
Prophesy. Speak to the bones.
So I speak of God’s greatness over the ruins. The bones begin to rattle and come together with sinew and flesh.
But still there is no life.
Prophesy. Speak to the Spirit.
I speak and breath begins to fill the lifeless bodies.
Breath. Wind. Spirit. The One who hovered over earth’s creation now blows new life into my declining body.
O Lord, where there is deadness, you bring new life and