An important sector of society is older adults and their various contributions to future generations. Billy Graham’s book Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well sheds light on the various attributes of growing old and about life in general. An important idea he expresses is the influence older adults have on society as well as their ability to leave a spiritual legacy which is far more important than material inheritances. I also believe that older adults are essential to society and that Graham’s opinions are in tune with society and are useful to readers of all ages. Graham also discusses two major themes of adult development: retirement and primary aging. His book can be used to help professionals working with older adults in a variety of ways.
One of the most significant ideas from Billy Graham’s book is the idea of the value of older adults and their influence on younger generations. Society seems to have lost respect and reverence for those who are elderly and this view is sometimes even seen in older people themselves. Graham shows there is a distinct place for the older generation in society and its importance to the younger generation. He expresses that both young and old people need to realize the wisdom and life experience of the older generation. Progress is important but so is the knowledge of the past. Graham (2011) makes this clear when he states, “while society has belittled the impact of the older generations, the elderly have too easily relinquished their roles without much thought” (p.113). He goes on to use the Bible to show that people should care for their families especially those closest to them and that the older generation should be leading the way. He discusses how his in-laws had a profound ...
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...r clients who may be struggling with physical difficulties and may feel like giving up. Giving older people this book to read or reading it to them can instill a desire to keep pressing forward and to live each day to its fullest.
Books such as Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well, is vital to all age groups. It is very helpful to those going through retirement and old age. Billy Graham is personally going through and writing about all the things older adults are experiencing and will experience such as grief and primary aging. Graham also reaches out to young adults and shows them the importance of the older generation and their value. Lastly, professionals can better understand older clients and reach out to them after reading Graham’s book.
Works Cited
Graham, B. (2011). Nearing home: life, faith, and finishing well. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
This book shows the importance of tending to our aging population, particularly those who live alone, like Joseph
This part is adapted from “Developing Programs for Senior Citizens—A Handbook for churches,” produced by the Delaware County of (PA) Services for the Aging, and is included here with their permission. We gratefully acknowledge the editors: Judy Oerkvitz, Louis Colbert, Norma Thomas and Verne Dalton.
"This is the Hour of Decision with Billy Graham, coming to you from Minneapolis Minnesota" Billy Graham, has preached to more than 210 million people through a live audience, more than anyone else in history. Not only that, but Mr. Graham has reached millions more through live televison, video and film. This has led Billy to be on the "Ten Most Admired Men in the World" from the Gallup Poll since 1955 a total of thirty-nine times. This includes thirty-two consecutive more than any other individual in the world, placing him as the most popular American for about forty years. This essay is going to talk about Graham's personal life, and what kind of family he grew up in and im also going to talk in detail about how he became an evangelist, because I feel it is very important yet interesting. His accomplishments in the fifties are uncomparable, so I will be including a considerable amount of information concerning that topic. Finally I will be talking about his personal achievements, books written, and how he has been a companion to some of the American Presidents. William Franklin Graham Jr. was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 17, 1918. Graham was raised on a dairy farm by William Franklin (deceased 1962) and Morrow Coffey Graham (deceased 1981). In 1943 he married his wife Ruth McCue Bell, and had four children Virginia 1945, Anne Morrow 1948, Ruth Bell 1950, William Franklin, Jr. 1952, and Nelson Edman 1958. At age eighty, he keeps fit by swimming, playing with is nineteen grand children, and from aerobic walking, in the mountains of North Carolina, where he currently lives. (Billy Graham Best Sellers, 1999) Billy Graham told Time Magazine in one article about his life before becoming a preacher. "I lived on a farm. The only difference was I had to get up early in the morning and go milk cows. When I came back from school that day, I had to milk those same cows. There were about twenty cows I had to milk. By hand. That was before they had those machines. I loved being a farmer. But God called me to this work that I'm in now. I knew it was God calling. I said, "Yes. I will follow what God wants me to do." And so I went to two or three schools to get education.
Everyone will grow old, as the aging process of the human body is inevitable. However, each day in our life can bring on new adventures, new friends, and knowledge of the world a round us. Yet, many people have negative views towards those who are considered older adults and thus, have a negative belief on the aging process as a whole. Throughout the quarter, COMM 119 has taught us why there is this negative stigma around the aging process and specially, on older adults as a group. This paper will address my stereotypical views of the aging process before COMM 119, the effect of improperly discussing death and dying, as well as what it means to be a successful ager. Understanding these topics have helped me realize that my viewpoints of elder
An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.
The thought of aging is not void of hesitance given it produces questions deprived of answers in the absence of a crystal ball. Subsequently, aging parallels the unknown; thus, faced with uncertainty adopting a positive perspective remains elusive. Although, it’s preferred to view aging optimistically one cannot escape its negative connotations. Will I be an active agent or isolated burden remains a noteworthy unknown that enervates my optimism. Another consideration leading to my vacillating view on aging is, not knowing to what degree personal competencies and capacities will carry forward, thereby affording autonomy in the elder years. However, as research suggest, the aging process transforms healthy adults into frail ones; thus, dashing one’s hope that such traits will endure (Friis, 2010). Incidentally, at age 48, these lingering questions will soon be answered. In the interim, there is an inherent responsibility to prepare physically, psychologically, and financially for entry into the aging population. Ideally, the goal is to
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Later life: physical changes can result in difficulties with strength, stamina, sensory abilities, health, and brain, can be avoided by continuing exercise to mitigate loss of function. Cognitive Development: Early adulthood is an individual’s best time for learning and memory because of enjoyment of freedom as well as many “firsts” in terms of new experiences (Myers 152). Later life developments can induce declines in memory and other sensory abilities (Myers 152). Older adults can still remember meaningful facts/events, but it may take them longer during last 3-4 years of life. Social Development: Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Hypothetically, intimacy issues within young adulthood might arise in times of social discomfort or disinterest, which could lead to gradual isolation depending on the afflicted individual (Myers 154). Generativity within middle adulthood can be an issue in an individual’s self-image and their perception of their accomplishments or failures (Myers 154). Late adulthood often brings up questions regarding an individual’s own integrity, in which they might value themselves based off of their perception of cherishing and regretting certain opportunities throughout life (Myers 156). A generation and location often have their own social clock in which life stages are triggered by social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement. I feel that myself and other individuals on the cusp of adulthood (in terms of my generation) are turning our social clock forwards. There is a conflict of interests here in this mindset. Ideally, someone of my generation must progress through certain education, employment, and social opportunities efficiently. To do so might entail compromising your full effort or attendance of all three of these components simultaneously and wholeheartedly. The end goal
Aging is about the experiences and there are several chapters in older people’s lives. We can learn from the elderly and their lives. (Tappen, 1981). The interview was very interesting to discover how people thought and lived in the 1930s and 1940s. In addition, how hard it was to get opportunities to get educated and get a job. People were stricter about specific topics such as sexual orientation, morality, sex. The majority of older people lived in poverty, and they married underage, as well as they had a lot of children. Also, older people had to do hard work because they don’t have a chance to get a college degree. Parenthood was very different in these days, and they were stricter to their children, and the