INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR AGE In his extreme old age John Quincy Adams was slowly and feebly walking down a street in Boston. An old friend accosted him and shaking his trembling hand asked, "And how…
Sermon Illustrations
OPPORTUNITY For age is opportunity, no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
AGING "Paul describes in II Corinthians 4:16 the outer nature is winding down, petering out, while the inner self is being born as a new, or renewed creature. The new I, now coming into being…
ASK THE MAN WHO'S BEEN THERE I consider that the old have gone before us along a road which we must all travel in our turn and it is good we should ask them of…
WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME? The following poem was written by a woman in a geriatric ward in an English hospital. It was addressed to the people who surrounded the woman…
ALL THAT IS NEEDED A boy was trying hard to think of something to buy for his girlfriend. Finally, he asked his mother for a suggestion. He said, "If you were going to be 16…
AGING Everybody wants to live long, though nobody wants to be old. La Rochefeucauld . . . Weather forcasting has been speeded up, but it's still several hours behind arthritis.
ULYSSES It is for you to choose whether you will rust and atrophy -- or shine with use. I hold up for you the marvelous words of Tennyson's poem, Ulysses, which speaks to us of…
LET'S HEAR IT FOR OLD! Let us take note that it is the old apple trees that are decked with the loveliest blossoms. That it is the ancient redwoods that rise to majestic heights. That…
IT'S ALL IN YOUR ATTITUDE Extravagances and luxuries did not exist for my mother. The one exception to her frugality was a frilly nightgown which she had never worn. She explained "I have that nightgown…
MOODY DEAD? "Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than…
BRIDGES "The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon," Thoreau noted mournfully, "or perchance a palace or temple on the earth, and at length the middle-aged man concludes to build…
THE MISSING INGREDIENT During one of the tensest moments of a murder movie, an elderly gentleman groped for something on the theatre floor. He was greatly disturbing the lady in the next seat, to the…
MAYBE I SHOULD PRACTICE NOW When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me, And I shall spend my pension on brandy and…
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Maxie Dunnam tells the story of an elderly man who began spending a significant amount of time with an elderly woman. Neither had ever married and had lived alone for many years. Gradually…
MEETING ONE'S SELF An Englishman, Osbert Sitwell, once wrote a novel that had a memorable scene in it, even though it was only fancy. The novel was entitled, The Man Who Lost Himself. In the…
COUNTING THE YEARS A friend and I took my little daughter, Ellen, to a movie for her birthday. After we left the theater, while I was bundling up Ellen against the cold wind, my friend…
THE GOLDEN BARGAINS One of the nice parts about heading toward middle age," notes Ken Floyd, "is that you can find all your favorite music in the bargain bin." By Burton Hillis, in Better Homes…
ONLY THE TOUGH GROW OLD A group of senior citizens at a retirement home were having a high old time discussing their various aches, pains and ills. One had arthritis -- another indigestion -- maybe…
HAVING THE FINAL SAY! Carefully backing into a parking lot space, the driver of a big, heavy old Rolls-Royce was angered when a teenager in a snazzy sports car zipped in and stole the place.…
