Annie waited too long to have that talk with her parents. It was too late to have it now as they were both beyond comprehending seriousness of their situation. As a result, she had to break bad news to a long lost brother, and deal with her resistant parents who had convinced themselves that they were independent in their own home, while she had to make some very difficult decisions for them.

It’s never too soon to begin discussion of aging. But if you have put it off, ease into that conversation as soon as first, what may seem minor event occurs which indicate a loved one’s independence may be in jeopardy. Since it is difficult to begin such a talk, here are some suggestions which may help:

to learn to pray, because prayer is essential for a daily work

with Jesus. In Mark 11:23, it states that we “shall not doubt

in our heart that what we are praying for will come to pass, and

we shall receive it.” The key is to believe we will receive

that which we ask for, if we keep our eyes on Him. So, our

attitude targets goal. The goal is met in His timing and in

His way. This matures our faith.

I recently attended a workshop on prayer. The speaker

looked like son of Billy Graham, and he showcased vim and

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vigor for our Lord as Mr. Graham does. He made a statement that

startled me.

He said, “we should pray our children and grandchildren to

heaven.”

I’m sure I sat straighter in my chair. I had not heard an

expression like that.

Then, he added, “we should be as passionate to pray for

souls of our children and grandchildren as we are to pay our

monthly mortgage.”

“Wow,” that made sense to me, and since room was filled

with Senior Citizens, there were lots of heads nodding in

agreement.

I left workshop with a fresh, renewed excitement. The

speaker suggested that we keep a journal. When we are met

with a petition, we should write prayer request in

journal and date it. He also told us to pick a time of day, a

certain place to meditate and pray, and start our time with Him

with a sincere and genuine heart. This brought to my mind

Psalms 51:l0-11. It asks God “to cleanse our hearts, and

release a new attitude (there’s that word again) within us. To