On my 70th birthday I did two things. First, I went to get a hearing test. I had done this before some years ago. At that time, the audiologist said, “Yes, your hearing is deteriorating but not to the extent to make it worthwhile to get hearing aids. They are expensive.” He told me that getting them then would not make a major difference to my hearing.
Well, time has passed and getting older also means my hearing continues to get worse. Recently, at a family dinner someone told a joke and everyone laughed. I didn’t because I couldn’t catch what was being said. And we were all seated very near to each other.
So, on my 70th birthday I went to test my hearing. My low and mid-range hearing is not too bad but my ability to hear higher frequencies has deteriorated badly. So, it is finally time to invest in hearing aids.
Next to eyesight, hearing is critical for relational functioning. Relationships are based on conversations where we take turns to speak and to listen. Defective hearing disrupts this. This is particularly significant for me since a lot of my work involves counselling and mentoring, both of which require me to be able to hear clearly.
Of course, listening to others is a reminder that I am also committed to hearing from the Lord. Interestingly, my morning reading that day was Mark 12:28–34 and the reminder that life is based on the twin loves for God and for neighbour. So, even as I take a hearing test for my physical hearing, I also really need to take stock of how well I am hearing God. Lord, help me hear both you and others as I enter my 70s.
The other thing I did on my 70th birthday was to attend an Ash Wednesday service. Briefly, Ash Wednesday is that part of the church calendar that marks the start of Lent, a 40-day period of spiritual reflection that climaxes with Good Friday and Easter. Sometimes applied literally on one’s forehead, the ash of Ash Wednesday represents repentance, mortality and humility. Lent is a period for serious personal reflection on one’s spiritual state and seeking to realign our lives with God and His purposes.
Somehow it felt right that my 70th birthday should be on an Ash Wednesday. Those of us who own cars know that our cars need regular servicing to function properly. But once in a while the car requires a major overhaul. I often feel a bit unreal that I have lived for 70 years. If God chooses to give me more years I should get a major spiritual overhaul.
As the philosopher Sting reminds us, we must never forget how fragile we are. It’s hard to forget this when your friends begin to pass away. If there is something that makes me feel a bit blue this birthday it is the realisation that some of my friends, some of whom were younger, have passed away. The longer you live, the more this happens. Until it is your turn. I am not really concerned about that. It is God’s call and I know where I am going. I am more concerned for how I should live with the time He gives me.
I guess one thing I can seek to grow in as I grow older, is the practice of kindness. Maybe Ephesians 4:2 can be my guiding verse here on in.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
We are all fragile. Let’s be kind to one another.