There’s Work To Do

At age 62, J.R.R. Tolkien published the first volume of his series, The Lord of the Rings.
At age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder published her first book, Little House in the Big Woods.
At age 66, Noah Webster completed the American Dictionary of the English Language.
At age 77, John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space.

At age 89, Arthur Rubinstein performed one of his greatest recitals in Carnegie Hall.
At age 93, P.G. Wodehouse worked on his 97th novel, was knighted and died.
At age 95, Nola Ochs became the oldest person to receive a college diploma.
At age 100, Ida Keeling became the oldest runner to cross the finish line of the Penn Relays.

It was Ida’s story that intrigued me.
Ida raised four children on her own after her husband died of a heart attack at age 42.
Two of Ida’s sons were murdered in what police said were drug related killings.
Ida became depressed and her health suffered.

Ida’s daughter, Shelley, got her mother back on her feet.
I just bought her a pair of sneakers and said, Let’s go! Shelley said in an interview.
It was running that restored Ida.
It was running that gave her purpose to get up each day.

It was Ida who stole the hearts of the spectators at the Penn Relays.
Ida ran in a race for those runners who were 80 years old and older.
Ida finished the race and set a record for her age.
Ida finished the race in one minute, 17.33 seconds.

Ida’s daughter lifted her mother’s arms up in victory as the crowd cheered.
Ida summed up her feelings nicely when she was interviewed.
I’m a nice example of what you can do with yourself; I thank God everyday for my blessings.
You see so many older people are just sitting around — well, that’s not me, Ida said.

Ida began running at age 67.
She has held several track-and-field records.
She still has the fastest time for American women ages 95-99 in the 60 meter dash.
Ida’s time is 29.86 seconds.

Ida grew up in Harlem.
She stands barely 4-foot-6 and weighs 83 pounds.
Growing up Ida preferred riding bikes and jumping rope.
There were no such things as organized sports for girls.

Time marches on, but I keep going, Ida admits; her attitude is what makes her victorious.
I was pretty fast as a girl; what makes me faster now is that everyone else slowed down.
Now I’m just chasing myself — there’s no one else to compete with, Ida said.
It’s wonderful, but it feels a little crazy.

Ida’s daughter Shelley is a track and field athlete; her own trophies fill a room.
After her first five-kilometer race through Brooklyn, Ida shared her feelings.
Good Lord, I thought that race was never going to end, but afterwards I felt free.
I just threw off all of the bad memories, the aggravation, and the stress, Ida admitted.

It is said that Ida is in her sunset career.
While most of her peers are abandoning athletics altogether, Ida presses on.
Ida travels the world for competitions.
Running gives Ida a sense of serenity.

They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.” (Psalm 92:14,15)

Until the Lord decides otherwise, we all have a job to do.
We have a purpose that is not restricted by our age.
We are vital to the Lord’s Kingdom work until the day we die.
We have no excuse.

There is no coasting on our life’s journey.
There is no sitting back and letting someone else do the work.
As long as we have breath in our lungs, we can serve the Lord.
As long as we can stand, we can stand for Him.

We do not retire from the Lord’s work.
We can have a vital prayer ministry.
We can teach the Bible to others.
We can practice hospitality in our homes.

We can reach out to those younger than us and come alongside them.
We can volunteer our time, serving the Lord as we serve others.
We can encourage and support those who need a new perspective.
We can visit and prepare meals for the sick or the elderly, or those who are grieving.

We have work to do.
Age is not a factor.
With age comes wisdom.
That wisdom is desperately needed in our culture.

What can you do?
What new goal or new dream is waiting for you to begin?
Who can learn from your example?
There really is no excuse.

Get up and do things even if you don’t feel like it.
Sometimes you don’t feel like doing this, that, or the other.
Do the thing that you don’t like to do first and get rid of it.
How’s that for Ida’s 100-year-old wisdom?

You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream. (C.S. Lewis)
Never!
Get up!
There’s work to do!

To view a short video about Ida, click http://nyti.ms/1T3yeuR