Gray Haired Splendor

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
ESV Proverbs 20:29

My goodness where does the time go? By my calculation, this column has appeared almost weekly here in the Franklin Free Press for a year now. It is supposed to be weekly, but I’ve missed a few along the way.

Over this past year many of you have offered words of encouragement to me regarding the column and I am most grateful. Sometimes I trip over my tongue in response to your kindness. Please forgive me and understand that it is because words simply escape me. The goal of this column hasn’t changed. It is for God’s glory, not mine. May he bless it as He sees fit for his good pleasure.

A couple of incidents recently have reminded me that the years are ticking by and I’m not getting any younger. I was at a social dinner one evening when one of the folks at my table had a “senior moment.” I admitted to having them more frequently myself than I cared to mention. Then, thinking out loud I suppose, I added that “but the older I get, the less it bothers me to have them.” Everyone could relate.

A lot of folks get really wound up when they turn 40; I didn’t. Turning 30 bothered me because it meant that I wasn’t a kid anymore. But at 40 I paused just long enough to observe that 40 was halfway between 20 and 60 and decided I’d better be moving along. No time to waste you know.

This year I turned 44. (The guy on the billboard bearing my resemblance is a touched up 38 year old I believe; he’s coming down next spring). Anyway, I’m glad God has gifted me with a good sense of humor about it all. Just last week I had an opportunity to laugh at myself.

Late one evening I pulled into a McDonald’s to grab a cup of coffee. Now, after having worked all day and driven for several hours, I must have been looking a bit crumpled; especially to the child behind the counter. There used to be laws governing children working past eight o’clock I think.

Anyway, I asked “how much for a small coffee? The young lady replied forty three cents. I chuckled and asked to see the cup because “I might want more than forty three cents worth of coffee.” The cup passed muster so I placed my order. Tired, but still sharp enough to know something wasn’t right, I grabbed my ticket for a closer inspection. There it was in black and white. Unsolicited and without provocation she had sold me a “senior coffee.” I laughed out loud; membership has its privileges.
As I relayed this story to one of my friends, who is both older and sporting less hair than me, he surmised that it must have been attributable to the color of my hair and not the quantity since he has never received nor been offered such a discount.

But I digress. Both young and old have a place and purpose in God’s kingdom. The young are gifted with strength and vigor that fades with age and older folks should appreciate those gifts. On the other hand, older folks can very many times say “been there/done that” and offer wise counsel that only comes with the passage of time and younger folks would do well to remember that as well.

Both young and old would do well to act in accord with Paul’s charge to the Corinthians: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

God bless you. Have a great week.

-Ken Askew