What Is Normal Aging?
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dimmed, nor his natural force abated. Deut. 34:7, RSV.
Americans are growing old. By the year 2020 an estimated 20 percent of the population, or 52 million Americans, will be 65 years of age or older. Women more than 85 have become the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. The social and economic consequences of the "graying of America" are enormous. Many of my elderly patients have commented, "Doc, if I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!"
Our text gives us an example of normal aging. Moses was 120 years old and had spent the past 40 years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Before being laid to rest, Moses had the physical strength and vigor to climb the 2,600-foot Mount Nebo and with his still keen eye received a vision of the Promised Land. Now, that's the way to go!
For many of today's elderly, their greatest fear is not dying, but becoming increasingly feeble, frail, and dependent on others. The average 65-year-old woman in the United States has a life expectancy of 19 years. For far too many, these additional years will bring both physical and mental deterioration.
Such was not the case for one very remarkable woman. Hulda Hoehn was born on a farm in Canada on May 19, 1896. Raised on meat and potatoes by her German father, she became a Seventh-day Adventist when she was 18 years old, and since that time she has been a vegetarian. She earned a B.S. degree in dietetics at a time when few women attained advanced education. It wasn't until later in her life that she added vigorous physical exertion to her good nutrition and strong faith in God. On the encouragement of her husband, Dr. Samuel A. Crooks, she began climbing mountains. Hulda climbed Mount Whitney, the highest peak in North America outside Alaska, 23 times—the first time when she was 66, and the last in 1987 at 91! Crooks Peak, just two peaks south of Mount Whitney, was named for her.
Hulda, like Moses before her, is a perfect example of normal aging.
If time should last, what would you like to be doing at 91 years of age? If you want to be able to climb mountains like Hulda and Moses, what should you be doing today?
Americans are growing old. By the year 2020 an estimated 20 percent of the population, or 52 million Americans, will be 65 years of age or older. Women more than 85 have become the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. The social and economic consequences of the "graying of America" are enormous. Many of my elderly patients have commented, "Doc, if I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!"
Our text gives us an example of normal aging. Moses was 120 years old and had spent the past 40 years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Before being laid to rest, Moses had the physical strength and vigor to climb the 2,600-foot Mount Nebo and with his still keen eye received a vision of the Promised Land. Now, that's the way to go!
For many of today's elderly, their greatest fear is not dying, but becoming increasingly feeble, frail, and dependent on others. The average 65-year-old woman in the United States has a life expectancy of 19 years. For far too many, these additional years will bring both physical and mental deterioration.
Such was not the case for one very remarkable woman. Hulda Hoehn was born on a farm in Canada on May 19, 1896. Raised on meat and potatoes by her German father, she became a Seventh-day Adventist when she was 18 years old, and since that time she has been a vegetarian. She earned a B.S. degree in dietetics at a time when few women attained advanced education. It wasn't until later in her life that she added vigorous physical exertion to her good nutrition and strong faith in God. On the encouragement of her husband, Dr. Samuel A. Crooks, she began climbing mountains. Hulda climbed Mount Whitney, the highest peak in North America outside Alaska, 23 times—the first time when she was 66, and the last in 1987 at 91! Crooks Peak, just two peaks south of Mount Whitney, was named for her.
Hulda, like Moses before her, is a perfect example of normal aging.
If time should last, what would you like to be doing at 91 years of age? If you want to be able to climb mountains like Hulda and Moses, what should you be doing today?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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