Don't Give Up
John Fischer

Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on [this] journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So I'm asking you to give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said." (Joshua 14:10-12)

- Caleb to Joshua as he divided the Promised Land among the tribes.

Okay, I've been running again now for over 2 months and I've been waiting for that thing to kick in that all joggers know about - that extra wind that hits you about halfway into your run and suddenly you feel like you could run forever. Well, it finally happened, so I stretched my run another half mile.

On the way back, I found myself thinking about getting older and whether there comes a time when this doesn't happen anymore. Then I started to wonder if there would ever come a time when I would have to give this up.

Then suddenly I thought of my dad and an encouraging phone conversation I had had earlier that week. It was the best conversation I have had with him in a long time.

1) He didn't talk about any physical ailments. I know he could have, but he didn't, and that was significant.

2) He didn't complain about anything. He has been concerned over the phasing out of the choir in his church for a praise band, but he only talked about how he had just gotten back from a choir retreat and what a great time he had there.

3) He then cracked three new jokes he picked up at the retreat.

4) He invited me to come sing a couple numbers at his assisted living apartment house in a few weeks when his choir from church does a Christmas program there. Last year he directed the choir for this same event. This year he is bowing out, but the current director insisted that he direct one number. (Now there's a fine man who understands how my dad comes alive when he directs a choir - something he loves and did for years.)

5) And finally, he told me he is going to start leading a Bible study in his complex. “Just once a month to start with,” he said.

“Dad,” I said. “You've got to meet more often than that.”

“That's all I could get on the calendar here.”

“They'll want more,” I assured him. “We'll pump it at the Christmas concert. What else do these people have to do?”

“Oh, they have a very full social calendar going.”

“Yeah, but they haven't been to your Bible study yet. You watch, they'll beg for more.”

How about that? And I was worried about giving up.

My dad is 93.

PDL