The Little Foxes

"Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines," Song 2:15

As we grow older we continue to change. We think that we are the same, but we are not. We think that we will never grow old, but we will. Most changes happen gradually. It is not like falling off of a cliff and plummeting down. Like the text, it is the little foxes, that little changes, the little differences that bring on dramatic changes.

One of the big changes that happens to all of us as we age is the loss of strength and reserve capacity. We find it harder to do what we used to find easy to do. We do not bounce back as quickly from injury or illness. We beat ourselves up for being lazy. We injure ourselves trying to beat the rap. We play mental gymnastics trying to convince ourselves and others that we are still able to do everything.  

This gradual decline does not mean that life is over. It just means that we have to adjust our lives to respect those changes.  Spend time in a hospital and see how that changes your life. Visit the ER and look at all of the terrible conditions that people find themselves in, including you.

I know that life must be lived to the end. That does not mean that you must live pedal to the metal up until you keel over dead. Adapting to changing circumstances is a part to life that we know we must do but we find it hard to put into practice.

Little changes produce big results in many areas of life. So why are we surprised when little changes slow us down at the end of life?