A la Sinatra or Solomon

(Proverbs 5:11 KJV)  And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

This expression of despair does not take place in a vacuum.  It is not the expected result of a long life.  It is what you can expect from an old person who has lived a long life void of wisdom and righteousness.  It is describing how you will feel when you look back at all the knowledge and guidance that was offered and ignored.  Often the directions given to us don’t make sense at the time but when we look back we can see the value.  By then it is too late.

One of the stereotypes of old people is that they are all organ recitals and woe.  We have heard about people stuck in nursing homes and left to mumble to themselves.  It happens.  I have seen them.  I always wonder if these are the people who dumped their kids in day care and never made it to the baseball game.  I wonder if they invested their life guided by wisdom or did it a la Sinatra, “I did it my way.”  There are others that have family around them and light up the room.

So?  You may have plenty of time and figure you don’t need to worry about it.  Wrong.  Now is the time to start whether you are closer to the end like me or just starting out.