The following is from an article written for The Northfield News on July 29, 2017.
" Listen to me...you who have been carried since birth, whom I have carried since the time you were born. In your old age I shall be still the same. When your hair is grey, I shall still support you. I already have done so. I have carried you; I shall still support and deliver you."
This passage from Isaiah 46--translation, the Jerusalem Bible--was shared recently in a small gathering of church leaders of which I am a part. All of us in this group are engaged in ministry among elders. All of us who minister among elders also have heads adorned in silver--silvery grey, that is.
As one who is over the age of 55 who works among others who are, for the most part, older than I am, I find these words to be comforting and hopeful. Reassuring. Maybe even empowering!
For all the elders in our midst, rich or poor, sick or well, all who reside in this community of Northfield and in the surrounding area, I desire this same reassurance. That they, that you, that we all will be well cared for until the last breath we draw and the last time we close our eyes. Cared for by the residents of Northfield, cared for by the denizens of Minnesota, cared for by the citizens of this United States.
In a few months, I will join a group of travelers who grew up on the island of Madagascar. We will be going back to the country of our youth. While there, I, in particular, will be learning much about the care of elders in one of the poorest countries in the world. I hope and I expect to find there what I discovered early in my childhood: Elders are treasured. They are looked up to and revered. They are provided for with respect and honor.
While I am there, and when I return, you may see and hear what I am learning on a blog-website entitled MADAGASIKARA SOA.
In the meantime, enjoy and take comfort from these words from one of my favorite hymns, HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION: "Fear not I am with you, oh, be not dismayed, for I am your God and will still give you aid; I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. Throughout all their lifetime my people shall prove my sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love; and then, when gray hairs shall their temples adorn, like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne."
~Pr. Kristine Braaten-Lee, NRC Chaplain