Frayed Around the Edges

I put on a favorite shirt that has become part of my yard work attire. It’s 8 years old, or so, and has definitely seen better days. When it was young (new) it was a favorite shirt for the way it fit, the colors, and the fact I did not have to iron it to enjoy wearing it. It matched anything I wanted to wear and I’ve worn it with slacks, but mostly jeans.

But if you were to see it today. It’s lost its edge. It no longer looks sharp. There are holes throughout from getting snagged on brambles and singed by fire. The cuffs are weathering hard because I always wear it buttoned to protect my arms from sunburn (I really hate to burn!) and the frayed edges prove their worth.

It may be getting frayed, but it’s not lost its purpose!

This shirt has taken a lot of beatings over the years, but it’s not ready for the scrap pile. Yet. Slowly it will make its way to the back of the closet and will only be worn occasionally… but over the years it has been my Go-To shirt for many days! In fact. I love to keep things like this around for a long time just to show my history.

My daughter has a blue jean jacket of mine from about 1971, back in the day when they were using blue jean material to make unique long wasted jackets and coats with tails. It’s really frayed and worn out on the elbows, but she’s getting it tailored to update the jacket to be hers!

As things age, unlike wine, they do not necessarily improve. Their purpose may be the same, but like as with my shirt, they become frayed around the edges and the struggle is real to continue using them for what they were originally purposed for.

Frayed. Showing the effects of time. Damaged. Weakened. Unraveling.

All reasons to put something out to pasture. Let it rest. Let the next new thing show up and take its place. Something newer. Something with a lot fewer miles on it.

Before you discard those frayed things consider this. The older we get the more frayed we become. Yes. I’m talking about our bodies. The stress of time will take its toll and energy will become something of the past. This will not be true for everyone, but for many, the stress of time will take its effect on the desire to keep heading north, or to infinity and beyond!

Consider my truck. 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 with a Cummins Diesel. 328,000 miles. My Go-To truck. It’s starting to show its age along the edges. My driver’s seat is getting holes from too many rough jeans wearing out the fabric. The dashboard is showing its age only because it’s not overloaded with computers and gadgets as all the new vehicles have. I’ve replaced the stereo so I can utilize the Bluetooth platform for communication to my phone circuits, and for accessing the music, books, and podcasts I may enjoy while on the road.

But the engine is supposed to last 500k miles and has been easily known to top 1 million miles. That’s my goal! Enjoy it until the goal is met, and then keep using it until it is no longer fit for the road, or I am no longer capable of climbing up into the cab.

Of course, it may be fraying, (I’ve only had to replace the water pump and alternator in the past 15 years) but with a certain care, the major components will last a long time! Just like my shirt. Keep it stitched, washed, dried and hung properly, and it will last for more years of wear!

The same could be said for our bodies, mental acuity, financial status, technological advances, and even our relationships. We need to have long-range planning for those retiring years.

Times were different back then, but at age 85 years young, Caleb said, “I’m as healthy as I was when we spied out the promised land 45 years ago. Let me have this mountain that I may conquer it.” (Joshua 14:10-13) Through the years of living in Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, and now taking the land by storm, Caleb is as ready as the years have prepared him, and his energy was up to the challenge!

I wonder what he did to prepare himself to be more ready at 85, than at 40? Who spoke into his life about what it would be like when he reached the age of Moses? Was there a mentor, coach, website?

Here’s a key thought from an elder to a younger. Paul encouraged Timothy to let no one despise his youthfulness, and in his youthful state, he needed to be an example of a believer – in word, conversation, charity, spirit, faith, and purity. If these were guiding principles for the frayed one that was his mentor, then they are definitely liveable by the next generation following.

Consider this. For the elder to have a voice to a youngster, then the elder should believe and live what they espouse. You cannot throw in the towel on your belief system and expect the younger folks to go the same path as when you started them on it. It’s Solomon who teaches us to train our children in the pathways of elder life when they are young and starting out. (Proverbs 22:6) Paul picks this up with Timothy in his last letter to him (2 Timothy 3:15), “…from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you WISE for salvation through FAITH which is in Christ Jesus.”

When you reach that part of your life that the frayed edges are coming unraveled, maybe it’s time to consider handing off the responsibilities to the next generation.

Think about it. My truck will someday be replaced by new technology, and it may not include an aspirated internally combustible engine! But for it to be up to the task of hauling a load it will need to be something equal to the task of a load of that time. And times, “They be a changing!”

One generation may carry the heavy lifting of breaking ground, then plow the field, planting the crop and fighting off the destroyers. The next generation may have the ease of only handling the harvest, but their load will be different as they learn what to do with the fruit of your labors.

If you recognize the fraying of your edges, I pray and hope you’ve done your job of preparing to ease the next generation into their place of picking up the load and carrying it forward.