In some respects, this year has been more difficult for Janet and me than normal. I have been struggling with a knee issue and Janet has endured a really serious back surgery. Thankfully, both of us are successfully dealing with our infirmities but it has put a strain on our ability to handle all the issues that occur in running a large home and maintaining the exterior as well.
When we were 30 years younger, it was no big deal to wash the cars every weekend, plant the garden, decorate the flower beds, cut several acres of grass and do all the other attendant things to maintain our home. I gave up on certain things, such as washing the cars, years ago and now I just buy monthly subscriptions to have our cars taken care of. And, I haven’t cut grass in years, either. Thankfully, we now have a wonderful team to take care of the lawn, fertilizer, etc.
Until several years ago, we have continued to plant our front beds with flowers as well as the various pots and urns around the property. One of the first cracks in our armor was when Andrew really stepped up and offered assistance each year to pick out and plant our beds around the property. It was great, but the kids have their own responsibilities and we got to the point that we hated to intrude and ask for their help. Frankly, that’s on us. So now we have a gardener who comes weekly to make sure everything is planted, trimmed and looking good.
We are at the place in our lives when most people downsize and start to unload stuff. Conversely, we still live in a large home (with a first floor master bedroom) and we like the ability to host Thanksgiving (54 years in a row), Christmas and a limited number of events throughout the year. The kids have taken over hosting duties for most of the other birthdays and celebrations that the family has each year. We are a close family and it would be a shame to not have a central place that everyone considers the anchor of the family. So we stay…
Yes, there is some vanity there. We have almost every amenity that we could want at this stage of our lives. But it comes at a price. Sometimes, we are at the mercy of those who help us – and that’s just fine.
Janet’s favorite holiday is Christmas and our grandsons help run countless trips to storage areas throughout the house to bring out, and eventually put away, an uncountable number of decorations as well as five trees – each with a different theme. To be sure, it is more than we could handle on our own, and even when we were younger, it took four days to decorate for Christmas. Now, it’s easily done in a weekend, with an army of help to add to our feeble attempt to keep up with the past.
We also have several handymen who deal with different kinds of things that periodically go wrong. Earlier this week, we had several small leaks in outdoor hose bibs that needed to be repaired before the real hard freezes start. A wonderful friend, who we have known 44 years, came by to handle things. We also have a painter who might as well be on retainer. Whether it’s painting the outside, repairing deck joists or repainting the kitchen cabinets, Zachary is always busy with something. And… I even had to stop writing this post to take a call from the furnace guy, who we have known for decades. He suspects we have some small water leak in the furnace that they will come back for next week. Is it from the air conditioning or the humidifier? We don’t know!
Now you would think, based on my descriptions, that we live in a house that is ready to fall apart. Not true. Our home was built by an engineer for Rolls Royce and, if anything, he overbuilt the place. I don’t know what else we could possibly want in our home. Carl, the previous owner, contracted the best of everything and, as we have found out throughout the years, maintenance becomes a bigger item – especially as our home ages.
Carl even had new door knobs and handles put on every door with outside access before our closing. He didn’t want us to have to deal with concerns about keys, etc. and he wanted us to have the same thrill he had when he and his wife moved in back in 2003. He was a great guy and made our experience better than we could have ever imagined. Suffice it to say that we have been clearly blessed. And, God willing, we will be able to live here for many more years to come, with a little help from our friends.
Our verse for tonight comes from the book of Exodus. With the help of his friends, Moses was able to lead his troops to ultimate victory during a battle. We are told, in Exodus 17:10-13, “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.”
My encouragement this evening is that there are times in our lives when we will help hold up the arms of others – but as we age, the time will probably come when others will help us in ways that we never considered in our younger years. My prayer is that we all can age with grace and dignity, realizing that this is the pattern of life – and then accept help that is offered. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…