Â鶹Éç

Available for over a year

This week it was reported that the oldest person in the world Sister André, a French catholic nun died in her sleep at her nursing home in France, she was, aged 118. When asked the secret of her longevity, she said "Only the good Lord knows". Despite being blind and reliant on a wheelchair, Sister André cared for other elderly people - some of whom were much younger than herself. She said in an interview last year: "People say that work kills, for me work kept me alive, I kept working until I was 108." There has been a lot of focus in the news recently about elderly people, with a drop in temperature again this week, coupled with a rise in energy bills, and spiralling health care costs, all this has drawn attention to our aged population and how we see and value them. The desire for many is to live to a ripe old age with all our faculties intact but retaining those capabilities may not necessarily be the outcome for all of us. Old age can also present other issues, like loneliness and financial concerns. The Bible however speaks of old age as a gift and names numerous people who lived well into their hundreds. For example, in the book of Genesis it says Sarah lived until 127, Noah died at the age of 950 years and Methuselah a biblical patriarch lived until 969, the oldest of them all. While no one lives to those staggering ages, Psalm 92 says, ‘Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing’, Here the process of life and aging begins with planting, moves to growing, then to thriving. It means a person can be strong and develop a walk with the Lord which enables them to be resilient inside, even though the body is growing weaker with age. Flourishing or bearing fruit means being the best that one can be and is a conscious decision that many people carry with them through their life. In many countries old age is still viewed as the most respected stage of life. Sister Andre showed that despite her ups and downs she remained determined, right to the end, to care for others. In our current climate in which older people face significant challenges perhaps we could all take something from the way she lived her life and do more to cherish and care for those advanced in years.