Graham on Growing Old

All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old. - Billy Graham

I recently came across this telling quote by Billy Graham. I think it may say a lot about those of us who believe in an afterlife, but still have to live in today's world with all its challenges. As one's abilities fade with age, it is difficult to continue to feel like a "contributing" member of society. And why is that so important, really, in the long-term scheme of things?

Not knowing a lot about Graham's particular theology, I can't help but wonder if he has any sense of the efficacy of suffering. That peculiarly Catholic idea of "offering up" the crosses that are given to us in this life, for the good of ourselves and others, can go a long way towards alleviating the "why" of that inevitability.