On Nearing 70 by Geoff Thompson

I have now started this year, my 70th year.

You look back and think where did that time go?

I can still remember, mostly,vividly, the things of my childhood, teenage years, young adult and married years, years as a new parent, the struggles and joys of family and working lives and the list goes on.
In retirement I regularly meet with friends who are about the same age as me for coffee.
We are mostly all retired from the workforce.
We have a great time once a month reminiscing over coffee.
We sort out the problems of particular sporting teams, crack terrible dad jokes,(well I am probably the most guilty) and occasionally touch on serious world issues.
A great time not to be missed if we can help it.
Ocasionally we mention people who we have been close to who have died or have serious illness.
One of our close friends never made it to our coffee group. He died about 4 years ago.
Just this week I received a phone call from a friend who will be 70 this year and he informed me a couple of months ago that he had 2 heart attacks.
Thankfully he is on the mend after operations.
We are at an age where we enjoy life very much albeit the aches and pains.
Some of us have had, and still have serious health issues.
I have lately much thought about my Dad who died when he was 70.
He retired ,had an operation,heart bypasses, was just recovering from that when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.
As I approach his age I have many thoughts about his life and mine and the realisation that life is very short.
On this earth anyway.
What might come after prompts this post.
Most of us try to ignore the fact that we will die.
Some of us are just resigned to our "fate" and think "whatever will be will be."
As  a Christian I believe at this age if we have never thought much about it before we should be now.
If Heaven and eternity exist we need to think about it now if we haven't done so before.
Below is a few sentences from one of my great  mentors, Frank Hunting.
He has passed on several years ago now but left a great legacy of Christian teaching.
It is an extract fro His booklet "Random Thoughts about Heaven"

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"RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THOSE NEAR SEVENTY AND OVER

            I chose to write these random thoughts on Heaven for those over sixty because the biggest proportion of their living is behind them and the next really big event for them will be their passing from this life to the next.
            If one happens to be 5 or 10 years older than 70, then that event is so much the closer. As we move into the middle seventies we shall have to come to terms with the fact that we have had our “go” at life. We control less and less, we may influence less and less, and we may find ourselves living in a world strange and different from the world we grew up in and in which we had our “hey day". Much of the current world may seem incomprehensible to us, we have little or no interest in computers, fax machines, and a whole stack of modern technology.
            To tell those of us who are 75 we ought to set goals for our lives may be said with persuasive enthusiasm, but will be received with cold indifference. We prefer to live going over wonderful times in our lives, thinking of those who were very important to us, and who maybe, we loved very dearly in days now long gone. All of this with a secret hope we will not yield to the temptation to bore our loved ones and remaining friends or newer acquaintances by endlessly talking about wonderful days, which for us now are in a dead past, and which mean little or nothing to our listeners.
            Like it or not we have had our "one go" at life (not always easy to come to terms with) and the next big event for us is to pass from this life into the next."

Frank goes on to discuss the Gospel and how important it is to make sure we know about the afterlife and that we will be able to enter it and enjoy it and much more.

We do need to settle this question about Heaven.

Not just dismiss it as irrelevant. 

We can pass on when our time comes with a positive and strong faith to help us prepare and also comfort those who are left behind.


You will find much on this blog and on my blog of Christian sermons and podcasts to help you prepare if you ahve never done so or just revise or reprise  what you believe.

Foot note as at january 2017.

During the latter half of 2016 I was diagnosed with diabetes and also discovered I had very badly blocked arteries in my heart.
I have had surgery to remedy that and now going ok.
The point being we just don't know what is around the corner.
We do need to be ready to meet with our God.

Footnote as at 8/4/18. Sadly we also lost one of our coffee group about a year ago.