Heather Bellamy spoke with Sheila Jones about what God's teaching her about growing old and dying.

Sheila Jones

Unless we die young, growing old will happen to all of us. It's not a season of life many look forward to, but there are things to learn at all times with God. Heather Bellamy spoke with Sheila Jones, who is 80, about walking with God in old age and facing the reality of death.

Heather: How would you describe this season of your life with God?

Sheila: In many ways it's a season of great surprises. Inside I don't feel much different. I might be walking down the road and passing a shop window and see a reflection of an old lady and then notice she's wearing the same clothes as I am and think, "Oh my goodness that must be me!"

Also, the children talk so much faster than they used to. Even adults chatter too quickly and jam jars and bottles have their tops on so tight now. They didn't used to be that tight.

It is a season of great surprises because you don't expect things to happen like that.

Heather: Can you be fruitful in your relationship with God at all ages?

Sheila: I suppose so, yes, because God says we will bear fruit in old age. If we love Him and are willing to love people, I don't see why we shouldn't be fruitful.

Heather: What are you discovering about Him that's new in this season of your life?

Sheila: One of the big new things, is as we grow older, most of us have quite a lot of regrets; things that we wish had been done differently; decisions that we wish had been different; relationships that are disappointing. Inevitably as you grow older, you see things you wish had been different.

I am so blessed that God has shown me that Jesus died to forgive failures and mistakes. He doesn't only forgive big bad sins, but He forgives all our little inadequacies and mistakes and regrets, so that we can be at peace and know that God is happy with us, because Jesus died to forgive us. That is something that's become very precious in my older years, because my life seems to be strewn with so many little and big mistakes.

Heather: How do you follow Him in old age? Is it exactly the same as in other seasons of your life, or are there differences?

Sheila: It is much the same. It's still a case of love Him, obey Him and keep up the Bible reading and prayer. It's perhaps a little more difficult now though, because I get tired quickly.

If you remember the story of Jesus, when He was 12, He went to the temple and did many things. When He went to the cross and had to go through Gethsemane and all that, He was in His 30s. God didn't ask Him to do the difficult things when He was just a teenager. I find as you get older, many things do become more difficult and costly, but that's lovely because we're more mature and if we didn't have to grow, life would be a bit disappointing, wouldn't it?

Heather: You're not travelling to places like India anymore as a missionary. Now you are 80, what does serving Him look like?