Report Paints Tender Picture of a Grieving, but Vibrant, Witty and Upbeat Billy Graham as His Birthday Nears This Week
"As a Christian, I know how to die, but nobody ever taught me how to grow old. I've discovered that just because we'll inevitably grow weaker physically as we get older, it doesn't mean we must grow weaker spiritually. Our eyes ought to be on eternity and Heaven—on the things that really matter."
(Montreat, N.C.)—A very moving report in the Charlotte Observer this week has detailed the life of Billy Graham as he is today, nearing his 90th birthday on November 7.
Reporter Tim Funk, noting that the evangelist grieves daily, even hourly, for his deceased wife, Ruth, writes of Graham: "Like so many others battling old age, the Charlotte-born Graham tires easily, naps often, is sometimes lonely and has great difficulty hearing. In conversation, his responses aren't as quick as they once were. Macular degeneration is slowly stealing his sight, denying him one of the chief pleasures of his life: reading the Bible." (Photo by: Chuck Burton – AP)
"But for all the loss," adds Funk, "those around Graham say his mind remains sharp, his memory strong. And like the young preacher whose calendar was ever-full, the elderly Graham still prefers to focus on the future: on that day he'll see Ruth again in Heaven and finally get to gaze on the face of Jesus, who he has served faithfully since his conversion at a Charlotte revival in 1934."
"I've discovered that just because we'll inevitably grow weaker physically as we get older, it doesn't mean we must grow weaker spiritually," said Graham. "Our eyes ought to be on eternity and Heaven—on the things that really matter."
According to the report, Graham is working on a final book tentatively entitled, "Nearing Home." It is about aging, something he would like to see churches do a better job of preparing their members for. "As a Christian, I know how to die," Graham is quoted as saying, "but nobody ever taught me how to grow old."
Of his grieving process for his wife, Graham's daughter Gigi says he has a large picture of Ruth Graham hanging in his bedroom where he can see her every morning when he wakes up. "I miss that lady so much," he told Gigi. "Every once in a while, I think she's going to come right out of that picture."
He also reportedly visits her gravesite (his grave plot is right next to hers) where he asks staffers to read him the message she chose for her headstone: "End of Construction—Thank you for your patience."
Read poignant details of how Billy Graham is living out his twilight years—the dog who is his faithful companion, endearing nicknames given Graham by family and friends, what he reminisces with his sister about, and what he thinks of a certain vice-presidential candidate—by clicking on the following link.
