Remove the label

"There are many examples of men and women who lived useful lives well beyond 'the productive years.'"

By Robert A. Johnson

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., resigned from the United States Supreme Court at age ninety-one. He lived to ninety-three, and his writings are still widely quoted. Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, left office at age eighty-seven and remained in the West German parliament for three more years. Harriet Tubman, born to slave parents, was a legendary figure in the Underground Railroad—assisting slaves to freedom—and managed a home for AfricanAmericans in need until she passed on at about age ninety-two, her actual birth date being unknown. Mary Baker Eddy founded The First Church of Christ, Scientist, when she was seventy-one. She actively directed her church for eighteen more years, establishing The Christian Science Monitor in her eighty-eighth year.

There are many other well-known examples of men and women who lived useful lives well beyond "the productive years," proving that age does not need to be the restricting force it is believed to be. At different ages, people often tag themselves and others with all sorts of labels— most of them unflattering stereotypes linked with bad expectations. Who hasn't heard of the "terrible two's," the irresponsible teens, and the forgetful seniors?

Such labels deny the truth of the man and woman of God's making—the children of God who are continuously active, productive, alert, and cheerful. Haven't we all known perfectly wonderful two-year-olds, teenagers more responsible than their elders, and many of advancing years with vigor and clarity of thought?