Elderly Spirits

WED., APR. 17, 1985, 12:16 PM
HOLIDAY INN, ATLANTA

It is a time of convention and you, o son, are among those gathering to learn and interact in this place. Yes, I arranged for this delay so that you could hear Me, before most of the action commences. Wherever you are you must balance the purported important activities with this time of hearing. You know, and it is true, that you simply cannot go where I am not.

Mention of the elderly has already been made. You have observed few elderly still active in this association. And yet you know you are close to becoming part of the elderly, in a relative way. What is My view of elderly humans? You soon shall know.

I shall use this term to refer to those who are physically old, having had a number of years in this earth life. It has no necessary relationship with maturity of spirit; they can be related, but they are not necessarily. An elderly person may be one whose spirit has developed and continues to do so, even as the body and mind function less and less well. When this happens the body actually functions better than it should… or the person is troubled very little be developing disabilities.

An elderly person may have developed in spirit as the mind and body developed, but the spirit then accompanies the slackening of these other facets of personality, resulting in elderly ones who are self-centered, rigid, and focused on the past. And then there are those whose lives produce no spiritual growth (perhaps even spiritual loss), with not even memories of active relationship with Me and of real concerns beyond self. And, of course, the variations on these “models” are innumerable.

Of course it is easy to love and value those who spirits love and enliven their elderly status. I have no trouble loving the lovable and the deserving. It is particularly enjoyable to be with such a person as she or he dies… to see their enthusiasm for earth life decline in direct proportion to their joy in going on to the next state of being. These are lives that make Me pleased that I started this whole process and motivated to continue it.

Those who have been close to Me and then tire of the growth process in their elderly years are eternally puzzling. (Are you surprised that the Holy Spirit admits being puzzled? I certainly know how humans function and what individuals think, but it still is puzzling, sometimes, when spirits seem to “give up trying.”) It is as if real growth were taxing, vexing, “too much trouble.” Some folks just do choose to have less of Me.

The best overall spirit development takes place when there has been a proper share of growth and participation as an elderly person. To look back on a life of work, the development of a marriage, the having and raising of a family, even on to grand-children, the experience of living many experiences and worshiping and studying My Word without loss of appreciation is to nurture spirit in a truly unique and important way.

Savor this panoply of experiences as they begin to come upon you. Be as aware and appreciative as you can be, remembering from the long past, still planning for the shorter future, and living fully in the now-moment. Your spirit shows no signs of succumbing to lethargy and apathy. Continue to mix the accepting of challenges with the joys of remembering past attainments. “It turns me on to think of growing old” is a marvelous sentiment.

You can still learn from those who are older than you are… and, increasingly, younger persons can learn from you. The greatest learning is mutual learning, where you learn even as you are the one who teaches… from the “learners” and from yourself.