Young or old and vocation

The Swedenborgians put out this monthly sermon and meditation periodical, Our Daily Bread that I readily recommend. The Bible passages aren’t linked to the Revised Common Lectionary, but the passage for this past Sunday was certainly apt. The last line of that reading, from Exodus 7 is “At the time when they spoke to Pharaoh, Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three.”

Right now, men’s gymnastics are on. I’m struck by phrases like, “At twenty-six, he’s a veteran” and “I wonder how it must feel like, knowing this is the last time you’re doing something in your life.” These are young men and women, and the (admittedly stunning) apex of their life-as-planned are these games, or something like it. Makes one hope that Olympic hopefuls get good counsel, whether or not they get the medal or an advertizing endorsement.

A message in the passage above is that God may have a plan for you doing what you never thought you would do, and perhaps not even when you think you would do it.

Julia Child died last week. Goodness, I want to be like her “when I grow up.” Why? One of the many things I admired about her is that her enduring work started when she was already a mature woman, and she continued it as long as her health permitted. (Many of us wondered in her later televised cooking shows if she would make it through the episode!)

Even when life doesn’t seem to offer second chances, or alternatives to a convincing life’s work (or love or fortune) it is worth remembering that God specializes in alternative outcomes to difficult situations. That’s true for aging gymnasts, too.

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