Demon Slayers

There's a meme on Facebook saying "It's terrible when you realize you are the same age as old people." After celebrating a milestone birthday, I reflected on my life thus far and realized I'm a much better person now than when I first considered myself GROWN.

I have told my husband several times that I hope I'm different every decade of my life. Being alive means constant learning and growth. And it's true. If I look back, my foundational beliefs pretty much stayed the same, my worldview changed somewhat, but my core values in religios philosophies remained pretty much the same. That was the MAGIC or BUZZ word - RELIGION, wasn't it?.

Living a holy life, required in Chrisianity, is easier said than done. Sins known about can prove difficult to quit cold turkey and you hear a lot of Christians saying, "I'm a work in progress. The Lord ain't finished with me yet." Our change comes with time and a lot of failing.

People long to be WISE like the gray headed, wrinkled, filled with a lifetime of experiences, old man/woman. They not only have wise answers, they seem angelic, like they never did anything bad. This is more than likely far from the truth. They slayed a lot of personal DEMONS to get to where they are - serene and loving.

When we look back at who we were in comparison to ourselves now, this latest version is probably a good place to land. But no one knows your private demons, the ones not dared to be spoken have been VANQUISHED out of necessity for peace. Our sins are enjoyable or torturous, but designed to cause pain in the long run. There is always a precious sin the Christian does not offer up to God to be over come, they still ENJOY or use it as a CRUTCH in some way. A person may even INFORM God they need more time on THIS sin. And, if they live long enough, they do give up or SLAY that sin because they have grown TIRED of its consequences. They HAD to for their own peace in their own life.

And ,'Tah Dah," you have a sinless heaven bound old person. No one saw the battles they fought about something more than likely enjoyable - for a while. It may be their slow inevitable march towards death that makes them dislike sin, but eventually it happens. The old heads say, "They finally SETTLED down." The march has begun.

Most people burn out at being themselves. Nice people get tired of being nice. Givers get tired of giving. So, I guess sinners get tired of sinning. They like being washed as clean as snow and know they are acting brand new. Through the years they faced and killed their demons and now enjoy the quietness of life, or at least they look like they enjoy their quiet life. People tend to only remember the changed good person. Why not? The elderly's bad behavior was decades ago and BEFORE social media.

So, yes the oldest generation should be lauded for their wisdom and their victories over their demons big and small. Love them with or without their baggage. Side note, the worse they were, the more demons they slayed, and the WISER they are.