Ambushed!: By Old Age - Growing Old Versus Getting Old

By James Earl Parker

"Help! I've been ambushed by old age, and I don't know what to do. My gait has slowed, my girth has expanded, and my get-up-and-go has run out of gas!"

Such is the sentiment of many older adults who realize that their seventy-year warranty (Psalm 90:10) is running out and they face a future of concerns and uncertainties.

Getting old and growing old are not the same. To get old, simply do nothing. The clock and the calendar will do all the work for you. But to grow old while maintaining and mastering a plan for ongoing purposefulness is a pursuit many have chosen to follow.

Here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the aging process. We all must die, but we should seek ways to live well even in our waning years. A myriad of ways as to how to accomplish that goal are available to us, some of which are presented here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685269494

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Ambushed!

By Old Age - Growing Old Versus Getting Old

James Earl Parker

ISBN 978-1-68526-948-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68526-949-4 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 James Earl Parker

All rights reserved

First Edition

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

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Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part One: Getting Old Happens

Getting Old Happens

Chapter One: The Graying of America

This Old House

As Old as Methuselah!

Do the Numbers

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

An Inconvenient Truth

The Tower of Babel

Chapter Two: Travel Companions

Physical Limitations

Mental Frustrations

Emotional Aggravations

Part Two: Growing Old Takes a Lot of Work

Growing Old Takes a Lot of Work

Chapter Three: The Amazing Power of Choice

Look Up and Never Give Up

Grow Up, Buckle Up, and Gear Up

Stand Up, Speak Up, and Shut Up

Hook Up and Lift Up

Lighten Up

Finish Up

Epilogue

Selected Bibliography

About the Author

To my fellow travelers on this journey of life whose warranty of seventy years has expired but who are resolved to keep on keeping on.

Preface

I have been young, and now am old… (Psalm 37:25)

A myriad of books and other resources on the subject of aging have surfaced in recent years. What's left to be said? What writer could present anything new on the subject other than evolving statistics, health breakthroughs, and changing demographics?

The approach this writer used many years ago in his doctoral program study at New Orleans Baptist Seminary centered on older adults and Christian ministry. And now, as he approaches the growing ranks of octogenarians, perhaps he is qualified to offer his two cents' worth.

Many older adults dread turning eighty years old and older for fear that things will be so drastically different than before and that life will be simply too hard to endure. They sum up their future outlook with one word—diminishment. They worry that from here on, it will be downhill all the way with no turning back.

The senses are dulled. The energy is flagging. And there comes a whole new set of health ailments that they did not have to contend with before. The fun's gone, and the harsh realities of a downward spiral of change begin to set in.

Each person's experience is different. But there are some common denominators that affect all the aging population. Our society glorifies the young, the beautiful, the healthy, the influential, the financially sound. When these qualities begin to fade in an aging person, it is easy to account for their loss of vitality in living.

Getting old is inevitable. But growing old while maintaining and mastering a plan for ongoing purposefulness is a pursuit many have chosen to follow. Our purpose here is to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of the aging process, with a major focus on the hopes and aspirations of those who choose to grow old gracefully, productively, and joyfully.

Introduction

There were times in our childhood when we siblings would be given a weekly allowance of twenty-five cents—joy, joy! Off to the Saturday matinee movies we would go, stopping on the way by Kimball Candy Store to purchase a bag of sweet treats that cost five cents. A ticket to the movies cost ten cents, leaving us with another ten cents to purchase a cola or to squirrel away for some future pleasure.

Our favorite genre at the movies was the Westerns or Oaters as some would call them today. Our heroes included cowboys like Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Lash LaRue, the Lone Ranger, and the Cisco Kid. Some of the common, predictable plots centered on such things as stagecoaches being robbed, barroom fights, Boot Hill, shoot-'em-ups, and posses chasing down the bad guys.

In one memorable episode, the bad guys, who were greater in number, turned and began chasing the posse of the good guys. The pursuers had become the pursued. The good guys managed to find a haven of safety behind some large boulders from which they commenced an exchange of gunfire. The bad guys figured that if they waited long enough, the good guys would have no choice but to surrender.

A decision had to be made. Would the good guys wave the white flag of surrender or decide to dig in and fight, if necessary, to the finish?¹

Do you ever feel ambushed by old age? It has a way of slithering in unnoticed, catching us blindsided, off guard, and shocked.

How does one deal with such a party crasher? After all, he can be mean, persistent, and unrelenting. Many of us perceive him to be a foe who colludes with our personal liabilities with the purpose of destroying us.

Must we decide to coexist, to compromise, to tolerate? Must we adopt the