Never grow weary of well doing.

Finish strong. Finish the race strong. Keep working to help others. Keep serving each day.

There is a moment in life when it gets tempting to sit down and stay down. We get a little older, we get a little tired, and the voice comes along that says: you’ve done enough, now just take it easy, now just retire and look after yourself. Rest is good. Time with family is good. Pacing ourselves as we age is wise.

But rest is not the same as quitting. And taking it easy is not the same as giving up on making a difference.

I have seen need that I cannot unsee. I have been to other countries, and I have seen poverty and hunger up close. I have seen it in my own community, too. The needs are huge, and they are everywhere — people hungry, people hurting, people who need someone to notice them and help.

There are always people in need. Try to help. That is the whole point.

And here is something practical: dig into your talents, your resume, your past successes, and look at how you can apply those to the situations and needs of the people around you. You have done things. You have learned things. You have helped people before. Those are not just old stories — they are tools. Ask yourself: what do I know how to do, what have I done well, and who near me needs exactly that right now?

And I have seen what happens when ordinary people decide to do something about it, with whatever they have.

Years ago, when Mother Teresa was alive, I volunteered in Calcutta. I watched the effort people put in there, day after day, to make a difference in other people’s lives. They did not have a lot, in the world’s terms. But they gave what they had, and they kept giving. That stayed with me.

We are put on this earth not just to take, and not just to live a life of luxuries for ourselves. We are here to give to others. We all have gifts — different gifts, but real ones — and those gifts can contribute to the lives of other people, to our communities, to the environment, to the animals and the natural world around us. If we use them, we make the world a better place, and better for others.

You might not have a lot of money. You might not have a lot of time. You can still do something. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. That is enough to start, and it is more than enough to matter.

Caring for others does not have to be grand. It could be a phone call. It could be some money. It could be a bit of time with somebody who is lonely, or struggling, or just needs to be heard. Keep trying to give to others, in whatever way you can, today.

This is why I want to encourage the people who keep on going, despite their age, despite their challenges. The ones who keep trying to help other people, meet other needs, and do well every day. You are the ones who understand this: it is not about partying all the time, or sitting on the sidelines watching life go by. It is about pacing yourself, resting when you need to, being with your family — and then getting back up and giving again.

The Bible says it plainly: never grow weary of well doing. Keep on giving. Keep on trying. Keep on making a difference.

So finish strong. Finish this life strong. Finish each day strong.

Not because you have to prove anything, and not because age means you have to run yourself into the ground. Finish strong because there is still work worth doing, and people worth helping, and a life worth living with purpose — right to the end.

Dream again. Live with purpose. And never quit on doing good.

— Jeffrey Baldock