In ninth grade, I had to memorize Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage” speech from As You Like It. In it, the Bard describes the seven ages of man, from infancy to death—man’s entrance and exit. The poem ends with the line, “Last scene of all, / That ends this strange eventful history, / Is second childishness and mere oblivion; / Sans [without] teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” 

Now there’s a cheery thought! What do you have to look forward to before you die? Dementia, dentures, cataracts, and Ensure. Wahoo!

God has let my husband and me live long enough to see signs of old age in our parents. At first, it’s painful to witness your mom and dad losing their faculties. You used to have to run to keep up with your dad’s long strides; now you hold his hand to keep him steady. You listen patiently—but not patronizingly—to a story your mom already told you minutes before.

God has also given us the grace to see the pleasure that this third act gives to our parents. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). When their kids and their families take up four rows at church while visiting the grandparents, there’s no greater joy. Likewise, when our parents get to celebrate the Christian baptisms, confirmations, and weddings of their grandkids, they rejoice.   

And for the grandkids who’ve strayed, they pray fervently that God will delay bringing the final curtain down.