Life Begins at Eighty?
Congratulations to Canon Kelly’s father, Richard Kelly, who has just been installed as mayor of Palm Desert. He will celebrate his 84th birthday January 24th. What does this tell us about aging today? Quite a bit.
In the sixties, I had a student who declared that anyone over thirty was irrelevant. I had lunch with him the other day - - and he is looking forward to celebrating his 60th. He couldn’t recall ever having said such a thing - - but, as I gleefully reminded him, he most certainly did!
Some of us will remember Doctor Judson Leeman, priest, physician, psychiatrist, needlepoint expert, and former Canon Pastor here at the Cathedral. He believed that life really didn’t begin until one was 50, and that age was not at all an issue. One’s health was. One’s outlook on life was. And one’s faith and involvement in community played a significant role in determining the quality of one’s life.
I am also aware, as he was, that growing older may slow us down, but it need not prevent our living life to the full. Canon Kelly’s dad, like many in our Cathedral family, is a role-model for all of us - - regardless of our chronological age - - who are determined to live each day to the full, basking in the graciousness of God . . . whether we are eight, eighteen or eighty.
Canon Carey
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment