Don't let it slip away....

Posted by Leona Bergstrom - This is copyrighted material by John Fischer that we thought was very appropriate to our blog.  Please visit his blog to sign up for his daily devotions!  

Don't let it slip away
by John Fischer

Last night, Marti and I enjoyed a night out at our local community theater. It's a date night for us once a month during the season, and that's why we buy tickets in advance, because if we've already paid for the seats, there's a good possibility we might go.

After a great show and the opportunity to do Q&A with the cast, we filed out of the side entrance. In front of us, moving very slowly and carefully was a group of elderly ladies, some on their own, some being assisted by their more able peers. The side door was large and heavy and incapable of being propped open, so it became the responsibility of one after another of them to have to navigate the heavy door. Marti told me to lend them a hand, so I moved on ahead and held the door until they all passed through. It was a small gesture (anyone of you would have done the same), but I was amazed at how appreciative they were. Their faces brightened and the pleasure they received from this overwhelmed me.

Marti reminded me later that they would have each had a man of their own at one time to handle things like this. But now, with no one but another shaky widow to lean on, they were missing that simple dignity. I looked at their faces and immediately saw them younger and vibrant. In that simple act, I was giving something back that age and frailty was threatening to steal from them, their dignity.

Look for opportunities like this to spread a little worth around. Watch the value return to the countenance. It's only what they are due—what should be the nobility of a long life, and what all of us will wish someday we could reclaim. See to it that you do what you can do to never let it slip away.

Strength and dignity are her clothing; and she smiles at the future. –Proverbs.