WHAT’S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?:
Living out God’s purpose at all ages
By Louise Morse
Lion Books. 167 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 0 857 217 486
I reached 70 years of age in December! Personally, I wasn’t too happy to be reminded that I’ve made it to my eighth decade.
However, one of my birthday cards, most of which were rather gently sarcastic, did encourage me when it said: “You’re not 70, you’re 18 with 52 years of experience.” As I’m still in full-time pastoral ministry this was perhaps a message I needed to hear?
Wrong perspective
We are being continually reminded that in this country we have an increasingly aging population, and there is more than a hint that older people are becoming a burden on the national purse and a burden to individual families. How refreshing it is to read Louise Morse’s book! Louise works for the Pilgrims’ Friends Society but she is also a journalist and has a degree in psychology. She writes with a deep passion for her subject, that God has a rich plan for us all even in old age. Hooray!
Writing from years of experience and study, drawing on a wealth of biblical passages and anecdotal situations, and quoting a huge array of secular as well as Christian experts, she exposes the fact that not only as a nation have we got things wrong, but the church doesn’t do very well in this area either!
I found this book not only an engaging read but also a challenge to my thinking as a church leader. Louise points out how easily we sideline our older folk, ignoring their vast experience and learned wisdom. We do so to the detriment of our churches and the discouragement of those who deserve our respect and care.
Of course, there are many negative issues regarding the elderly and Louise has written about these elsewhere. In this book, she presents us with a balanced and heart-warming approach to the demanding and important subject of old age. If you want to get into this subject, then start here.
