Usually, this blog encourages readers to prepare for death’s eventuality and make wise plans for the aging process. To those of you who have done so and completed your Heritage of Hope Checklist, I applaud you. These important tasks require both humility and wisdom. I believe you have saved both you and your family much distress. That is the goal of Heritage of Hope.
Today, I would like to go further. What is required of us, or recommended, when we are actually facing death? That is the topic of Billy Graham’s book, Nearing Home. Cover to cover, I felt like I was having a wonderful chat with him over coffee. . . a private conversation about important things with a humble and vulnerable man. Billy Graham’s message remained anchored in the gospel. He did not list ailments, but neither did he pretend to have good health or agility. He was able to endure old age because of his hope in Heaven and his relationship with Jesus and Jesus’ followers .At one point, he admitted needing help to get up . . . yet the man wrote this book at age 93. One could expect that a person as accomplished as Billy Graham might retire and rest on his accomplishments, but he did not. I was moved with his willingness to serve all his days. Might we purpose to follow his example? Following are some quotes from Nearing Home by Billy Graham.
ON RETIREMENT: Make God’s will your priority for your retirement years. P45.
ON OLD AGE: But no matter who you are, nothing will halt the onset of old age completely, and like it or not, the longer you live the more of its burdens and disabilities will become your companions. Rather than deny the realities and ravages of old age, it is far better to admit them and prepare for them—and by God’s grace, even welcome them as part of His plan for life. P83.
Reactions to growing older that can overwhelm us: fear, depression, anger, (People either seem to get better or get bitter as they grow older.) Intense loneliness, or abandonment, self-centered. Solutions are: Promises of the Bible, knowing Jesus is interceding for me, maintaining connections with other believers, focusing on others, praying for others, make the things of God central. P87.
Since death is an undeniable reality, we should all be diligent to prepare for the last years of life. P69
Having your house in order is one of the most important things parents can do for their children.
ON PRAYER: God forbid that we should ever retire from prayer, the sweetest work of the soul. P40.
As the older generation, we should be mindful of our responsibility to pray for others … We should not use this time in our lives to rest from our labors but lift up others who are carrying heavy loads. P28.
Contrary to what you might think, this was not a depressing book but an encouraging one. Surprised to survive his wife, that reality was balanced with Billy’s hope of being reunited with her in Heaven. Billy Graham’s faith was not a flimsy add on at the end of life, of course, but the bedrock on which he had lived. He knew the Bible, and he knew the God who wrote it. Accordingly, Billy could be honest about death and dying. As much as one might pursue health, we are mortal. One feels humbled before disease and the process of aging, yet it is a privilege to be given the blessing of long life.
