Film Friday Shelly is a showgirl, who has been dancing in an old-fashioned glamorous Vegas show for 30 years. But that show is now due to close down and this sends her into crisis mode. Although her daughter does not rate the show and sees it as tacky, it’s everything to Shelly, and makes her feel beautiful and seen. And she can’t imagine living without it. Although specifically this is a film about life in the lights of Vegas, it set me thinking about the rigours of ageing and feeling that the world is leaving you behind. Something I think about increasingly as I get older. We can often feel invisible in a culture that celebrates beauty, celebrity and youth.
One of the great things about the Bible is that it’s not like that. Many of its heroes are older. Sarah, Abraham, Elizabeth, Naomi, Moses, Caleb, Anna and Simeon are all right there on the pages of history for us. And their lives of faith are writ large, not marginalised. We are never too old to be part of God’s great jigsaw in this world, we all have a vital part to play. You know what it’s like when you finish a 1000-piece jigsaw only to find there’s a vital piece missing – well you and I are that vital piece, whatever our age and capability. We are known and loved channels for our living God. Who knows how many miracles happen in this world because of the prayers of the older generation. It was the ageing Caleb, who asked for the challenge of the difficult high country in the Promised Land. And it was Mary’s older cousin Elizabeth who was the first person to confirm to Mary that the child she was carrying was indeed the Son of God.
So whoever you are today don’t let the culture drag you down, you still have a vital role to play in the loving kingdom of God.
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