The Fountain Of Youth

Have you ever felt old, worn-out and used-up? Do you feel like everyone around you is draining you dry of any life that you have? The kids are always making constant demands on you, the boss gets raises and promotions as a result of work that you have done, your teacher expects you to have time to do 5 hours of homework every night and your spouse never seems to be satisfied with what you do around the house. At the end of the day, no matter what the calendar says is your age, you feel old. You’re just making it from day to day. If you can relate to this, I would suggest to you that you need a vacation! As you all know, last week, Stacy and I went on vacation to Florida. This was a much needed trip for us and we realized it more so once we got there. Even though it was a difficult task to board the plane back to Kansas, we feel a certain youthfulness and rest from going there.

Illustration: Throughout history, there have been tales of about a legendary Fountain of Youth that could restore the health and vitality to anyone that drank from its waters. By the 1500’s the Fountain’s legend became so popular that famous Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon gave up on acquiring treasure and spent his energy searching for these waters of longevity. Even though Ponce De Leon went on to discover Florida as a result of his quest, the Fountain of Youth still alluded him and every man that has sought it since. Today, the secrets of how such a Fountain can deliver youth would be considered priceless. Those priceless secrets, however, are exactly what I offer in this sermon today. And surprisingly, they are absolutely free. -

We are still looking for the mythical fountain of youth. Women try to find it in make-up and facials. Men and women try to get it by having their faces lifted and their bellies suctioned. Now is the time of year when the diet craze is about to take effect because everyone wants to look good when they put that new bathing suit on. And then we’ll spend time out in the sun this summer to get just enough color on our faces to give us that “youthful glow”.

Illustration: On our plane ride from Atlanta to Orlando we sat next to a man that lived in Florida. He told me jokingly that he was 50 years old but the humidity in Florida is what kept him looking so young. The truth was that he was probably only 35 at the oldest but it did get me thinking a little about the possibility of the “Fountain of Youth”.

Once I arrived in Florida, I gotta tell ya, I felt revived, young and full of spunk. As we toured Disney, Universal, and the beaches, I couldn’t help but to think that maybe the secret to youth is found in Joy, laughter, and trying new things in life. Going to Disney World made me feel young again. But I also believe it isn’t just Disney World or even Florida for that matter. I believe that the Fountain of Youth is available to each of us and it is found where ever laughter is heard. As we broke the chain of doing the same ol’things we do each day in our lives, life seemed to become a bit brighter for us. I believe that Stacy and I found the famed Fountain of Youth on our trip but it isn’t an actual fountain that we could drink from but it is a fountain of enjoying life.

God tells us to enjoy life, to be cheerful.

Prov. 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

A cheerful heart, a cheerful face, and a laughing mouth is good medicine. It’s good for the person who is laughing and for the person who is hearing the laughter.

Illustration: Stacy will tell you that I am the worst driver she has ever known but please don’t believe her. I did however support her false belief of me being a horrible driver during our vacation to Florida last week. She drove the rental car the entire time we were there except for last Sunday. Sunday was our sigh seeing day and we decided to take a trip to see Daytona Beach and just enjoy the sights. I suppose she allowed me to drive that day so she could spend a good amount of sightseeing rather than driving.

I took the keys and she told me as I started the car, “Please don’t wreck and don’t do anything stupid” I just grinned and said, “of course not.” As soon as I pulled out of our hotel parking lot I found myself in trouble. I went to turn my blinker on and the windshield wipers popped on and I was blocking an entrance for another car as I sat there trying to fix it. And then a car came out of nowhere and was on my left side trying to pass me but couldn’t because I had another driver to my right waiting for me to go. Stacy looked at me and cringed as she said “Dear Lord”. I soon got the traffic cleared up and my wipers off, we were safe. Then we both just began to laugh and laughed about it for a good while.