Chaplain’s Corner: Pyramid Schemes

Our culture has an unhealthy view of aging. We draw the trajectory like a pyramid. Everything is looking up until midlife, and then it is all downhill from there. It is no wonder we are conditioned to see life like this, considering our disproportionate value on sexuality and productivity. But scripture paints a different picture.

The psalms talk of flourishing in old age. Not the kind of flourishing that comes with competitive athletics and managing a financial empire, but one that is steeped in the wisdom that can be nurtured through knowledge and life experience.

Scripture abounds with stories of God calling people late in life. Much later than even the individuals themselves expected! Our vitality and service to others continues until we are called home, sometimes in ways we are used to and sometimes in entirely new ways.

Richard Morgan tells this story: “A tourist, tramping about in the villages of New England, came upon an old woman sitting in silence on the front porch of her cabin. The tourist asked, ‘Lived here all your life?’ She replied, ‘Not yet.’ That is the spirit of the older person who lives every day with joy and expectation.” Reject the pyramid and embrace the endless possibilities of God.
– Caley Ortman, Chaplain