When I stop and think about that list, I cannot comprehend the amount of change he's seen in his lifetime. As a boy, his family bartered for sugar during the Great Depression, yet now he can visit a drive-thru and swipe a piece of plastic that somehow communicates through the air to tell money from his bank account to "jump" into theirs.
As we've celebrated his life and accomplishments, many cannot believe all he's done, the lives he's touched, the legacy he's created. Many have asked him, "what's your secret to making it to 100?" When I spent time with him during his birthday weekend and asked the same question, he laughed and simply couldn't answer.
From my observations, he does some practical things like exercises weekly by playing golf, eats well & not too much, hasn't ever smoked, reads a lot, does crossword puzzles to keep his mind sharp, has lots of friends to help him laugh, and he "exercises" his brain by writing a monthly newsletter & working on a couple books. Daily, he navigates through the interruption of phone calls and emails while also writing 2 sermons per week. He socializes with the other residents in his building and with friends from church and golfing, and of course he studies his Bible.
During our visit I asked him a few more questions and learned his favorite books of the Bible are Isaiah and Philippians (because it's so down to earth). He watches very little tv (ballgames mainly), and if you look around his little apartment you'll see a lot of books, magazines and pictures of his family. He loves fruit and decaf coffee, has lots of plants around his place, and if he stops to eat lunch, it's usually just a bowl of soup.
Before I left, I asked again, about his life well-lived. He said, "well really, I just take it a day at a time. I've never really looked ahead. Today's the day, so I pay attention to today." To him, it has never been a secret. It's been a decision... to live his life in a way that honors God- active, full, doing rather than being, immersed in the Word rather than in the world.
So let me answer for him. His secret is that he lives each day like James 2: "faith without works is dead" and Colossians 4: "make the most of every opportunity." He sees life like James 4: "we are not promised tomorrow... your life is but a vapor."
In Colossians 1:27, Paul talks about the secret to life, the mystery that was hidden for the ages until Jesus came on the earth. That secret is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." And that is how my Papa lives- Christ is IN him so that everyone around him is given hope. This secret defines my grandfather's amazing life.
When we live with Christ in us, no matter how many days we draw breath, "[Jesus] is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:28-29
