Column – Aging gracefully: Challenges, Faith and Resilience
Published 8:06 pm Tuesday, October 3, 2023
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As life goes on for all of us, we face many challenges and changes, notwithstanding crises that may occur unexpectedly and inevitably in our lifetime.
Young and old seniors can’t escape changes and challenges for as long as they’re alive and struggling to enjoy their golden years and beyond.
Among these challenges pertain to their body’s health and well-being — their medical and mental conditions or status and how well they cope or manage their aching body and health.
As America and other countries worldwide have populations who are baby boomers and getting older, they have to address and tackle issues and concerns affecting their aging, seniors, or senior citizens who have retired from employment or other reasons, like disability or disease.
Thank God our local and national governments try their best to help serve, save, and protect us and our environment. Likewise, we have dedicated people and organizations (civilian and military, religious and secular) in our midst that actively (and politically) help and support our senior citizens who have contributed to and continue to make a difference to the United States and the world, and who continue to try to enjoy the rest of their life struggling or fighting their battle for survival.
In revelation, I’m one of those million Americans who have been dealing or living with chronic lower back pain, aching body, muscles, and joint pain. Like others, it’s a daily struggle managing it, with or without prescribed medications, and workouts or simple physical conditioning or exercises, subject to the body’s ability and capability.
On the other hand, my faith in Jesus, our Lord God and Savior, keeps me going in life. With my unquestionable faith, I always pray, “Thank you, Jesus; thank you, God.” As always, I offer my pain and suffering, joy and sorrow to Jesus. I pray, “Jesus, I believe and trust in You.”
Having been a member of the AARP for years, I get to be informed monthly or periodically about issues and concerns that pertain to us members. With publications like AARP Bulletin and AARP The Magazine on hand, I continue to obtain knowledge and information, to be empowered and entertained, while learning many things that affect and impact us senior citizens.
Issues about jobs, travel, fitness, investing, health care, government and political entertainment have been discussed or talked about in the publications mentioned above, in addition to other concerns like extreme weather, COVID-19, tick-borne diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and research, aging knees, a new cancer concern for men, marriage and mental health, on money matters, bad drivers, food poisoning, home repair rip-offs and crazy utility bills, taxes, how to beat inflation, great ways to save, the brave New World of shopping, fraud survival guide and many more topics that are interesting, challenging, and entertaining.
Browsing through my old copies of AARP publications recently, I learned that October is Health Literacy Month. What does that mean, especially for us seniors? Well, we must know and learn about our health and well-being. There are topics by contributing writers that inform us about prevention and early detection of such diseases, medical reports, and the latest promising developments in cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
Despite our health conditions, we can all learn something that benefits us, especially when dealing with physical, mental, and social health. Let’s avail ourselves of all useful information, whether in print or digital. It’s up to us to empower ourselves to help keep us as healthy and safe as possible.
It’s true that as we age, hopefully and prayerfully, with grace and wisdom, we have much more to learn, know, say, and do as we battle and grapple with life’s changes and challenges.
We believe we have a blessed, holy life here and after with our faith in the Trinity or Triune God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit).
As we journey through life, we continue to have faith and deepen and grow in our faith. We pray, “Jesus, I trust in You,” always. We believe Jesus is God incarnate, “true God and true man,” born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Jesus, our Lord God, Savior and Redeemer, was fully divine and human. In John 10:30, we read, “I and the Father are One.” Jesus and God the Father are one, the same in essence, same power, same nature, and same intentions that is for all of us, sinners and saints, to be saved from our sins and transgressions and have life everlasting.