The Secret to Longevity
Recently we gathered to celebrate my husband’s mom who turned 95. I asked her the secret to making it to her 95th birthday, but instead of anything earth-shattering, she said, “Well, they (her children) took my keys, so I can’t drive. And they put a lock on the door to keep me from going downstairs.” She was sitting beside her brother-in-law who is 92. I asked him the same question. He said, “Just keep breathing.”
Those responses made me chuckle but also got me thinking. Is there a secret to longevity?
I’m not sure there’s a secret to it. One thing I know for sure is that God is in control. Psalm 139 tells us that He knew us before we were born. Psalm 90 says, “Teach us to number our days.” In that same chapter, we read, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” The bottom line is only God knows the number of days we will be gifted. But I do believe that we are called to be good stewards of all that He’s entrusted to us while we’re here on earth. So, what were my takeaways from celebrating this special 95-year-old woman?
Based on her answer to me about the car and the lock on the door, I heard two things.
- You’re only as old as you think you are. Even though she logically knows she can’t safely drive and that navigating stairs when she’s home alone could mean a fall with no one nearby to help, she still pictures herself as someone more able to do things than she actually is. We’ve heard it: You’re only as old as you think you are. Keep thinking you’re a spring chicken, Rita!
- But that’s also why we need to listen to the people who love us. There might be times in life when we need to get out of our own way and let the wisdom of someone else guide us. We’re not always honest with ourselves about our abilities nor do we always take the long view of what might happen if. Surround yourself with people who love you and that you can trust.
Beyond those two things, it’s all about attitude. If you’ve never met my husband’s mom, you’re missing out on meeting a lady with grit and determination. (She raised six kids in a home that’s barely large enough for four people while helping her husband manage his diabetes.) She has a lot of spunk. And I believe attitude is everything. Her 92-year-old brother-in-law said simply, “Just keep breathing.” Some people get tired. Some people complicate it. What if it’s as simple as choosing to breathe? And yet, it’s not simple at all. Life can be hard. On the easy days, you don’t even think about breathing. You just do it. But on other days, that’s when you need that spunk, a bit of an attitude, to keep on keeping on.
I don’t know how many days you or I have left on this earth. But I do know that I want to embrace them. Just like you’re never going to unlock the secret to weight loss, you’re not going to be able to identify the secret to longevity. There’s no magic pill to discover that will help you lose weight or live to 100. It all comes down to embracing the life God has entrusted to you. We each have one individual life that has been ordained for us. To try to live someone else’s only takes away from the beauty of our own.
I’m sure you’ve seen the Smucker’s segment on the TODAY Show celebrating people who live to 100 and beyond. They always ask them what they credit their longevity to. Some of those answers include:
- Clean living
- Faith in God
- Laughter
- Good genes
- Community
But they also include things like:
- Eating bacon every day
- A shot of whiskey at bedtime
- Beer and hot dogs
- Eating dessert first
- Never exercising a day in their life
But then there was the response: Just pure stubbornness.
So, what’s the secret to longevity? Or even to losing those last ten pounds? There’s no secret to be uncovered. The magic happens when you embrace your life. Live it fully. Live it freely.
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