I told my writer friend we need to finish strong. We can’t quit writing. Someone needs our words to give them courage to fulfill their lives. We should be living our days for others, hone our craft and keep doing what we’ve been called to do. We will know when it’s time to let go and move over for someone else.
I always purposed to be like Grandma Moses, who had paint under her fingernails as she painted her last watercolor on the day she died. I could see myself finishing strong, flying out on wings and meeting Jesus in the sky. What a day that will be.
After living this past year, pulled through a keyhole, I asked the Lord to please let me leave with a little dignity. Dignity? I went to Google. The definition says, “In simple terms, dignity is the quality of being worthy of respect and honor, often shown through a calm, serious, and controlled manner. It’s about recognizing the inherent worth and value of every person.”
When is it time to let go? This is a question we all face as we become older. People in the public’s eye, for instance in government, who dye their hair purple, start singing and cursing and spewing out hate are no longer relevant. They have lost their dignity. They’ve lost their purpose and have stayed too long. And the problem is, no one has the heart to tell them. Would they listen? Probably not. They have too much to lose, they think.
How can people turn loose of where they are? They can’t give up to someone else what they’ve worked for their whole lives. If they give away their place, they will have nothing to fill it. I wonder if that is why people stay too long and can’t let go. They hang on to their pride and lose their dignity. Their pride won’t let them quit and end up with nothing. Quite the opposite. I have found, the more I pour myself into others, the more I have to give.
People hang on because it’s their lifeline. I understand. I have made wonderful and fulfilling friendships all over the country. Somehow the words I write have a certain ring and resonate with them. They respond and give me a reason for my purpose of living. They make my life complete. I’m not ready to let go of these lifetime friends. I’m not ready to give up writing. But, please, have the heart to tell me when it’s time. Hopefully I will listen.
I have learned as I have grown older that only the Lord can give us dignity. Everything else is self-serving and self-preservation.
I perused the book of Ecclesiastes and man’s labor, which Solomon describes as “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” In the last chapter, he warns the youth to remember their Creator.
“And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words, and what was written was upright—words of truth.”
He writes about the process of growing old in beautiful imagery. He warns the youth, “Before the difficult days to come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’ … In that day when the keepers of the house (hands) tremble, and the strong men (legs) bow down. When the grinders (teeth) cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows (eyes) grow dim…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” — Ecclesiastes 12 (NKJV).
Final brushstroke: Living in these last days has changed how I look at things. I thought I’d have a lot of gusto and my accomplishments would be my legacy. That isn’t important any more. Giving the people I love respect, compassion and mercy should be my goal. I will be measured as to how I treat others and how I lift them up to complete their lives. This is man’s all. This is called dignity.
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