L: = Learning
A special memory I have is listening in on my dear mother, at 70 years old, taking her guitar lesson in my living room. My youngest son, a young adult at the time, also an amazing guitarist, was her teacher. He gently guided her fingers to the strings that needed to be held tightly against the frets to achieve the correct tone from each chord. Mom had always been a songwriter and even though her youthful days had slipped away with the years of raising five children, along with pigs and goats and cows on their farm, she was determined to put music with her words and share her gift with the world. She has been my example of a life-long learner. Even today, at 88 years, she is an avid reader with a library card that has been her ticket to hundreds of books. There’s always another one or two on the stand beside her chair, right next to her Daily Bread and Bible.
One of the most important things we can do to maintain and, in some ways, improve our brain health is to faithfully commit to learning. Just like our skeletal muscles lose the ability to perform when they are not challenged, our brain loses its ability to function at its best when we fail to give it new, high-quality information to process, along with physical practice that results in attaining a new skill or being proficient at a worthwhile hobby. Mental training is just as important, if not more important, than physical training as we age.
I’ve always been interested in the mind/body connection and in my research, I came across Dr. Caroline Leaf, a physician and neuroscientist that has devoted her practice to the amazing mind God gave us. After years of practice and research, she concludes, “A growing body of evidence shows how our thought lives have incredible power over our intellectual, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being.” Now who doesn’t want that superpower? Dr. Leaf’s book “Think Learn Succeed, Understanding and using your Mind to Thrive at School, the Workplace, and Life” teaches us in so many ways that the cliché: “the mind is a terrible thing to waste” does not have to be your story as you age.
I’ve marveled at those over 70 who have gone back to college for that degree that was out of reach in their youth. But you and I don’t have to go that far to realize the benefits of learning new facts and practicing new skills. What is it that you always wished you knew about or learned how to do, but never had the time for it when you were younger? What is stopping you now?
By practicing daily, the “L” prompt in the G.L.O.R.Y. practice, you may be well be on your way to creating new neural pathways that can compensate for the regions that may decline as we age. Neuroplasticity is the ability of our brains to change for the better when we incorporate healthy practices of reading, studying, mindfulness and memorization techniques. Studies have shown that areas such as vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and math can be maintained and, in some cases, improved on as we age. (Prevention website, 3/6/26)
This practice can be a 5-minute devotional that includes some Bible reading. Or perhaps a chapter or two in non-fiction or a self-help book that relates to a topic that you are drawn to. Any type of reading that challenges your mind to stay focused or relates to something new you would like to learn to do. It all counts. I love to memorize Scripture and reciting passages while I’m driving or cleaning house or any other task where my hands are busy, but my mind is free. It is an opportunity to exercise my brain. Just a few minutes every day can result in hours of new knowledge over a year’s time. Grab that classic that you’ve never had the time or desire to read before. It became a classic for a reason, find out why. Take up calligraphy, learn to crochet, try that new recipe, grab that needle and thread and tackle that cross-stitch. Sign up for that guitar or piano lesson. Practice until you realize improvement in something you wish you were better at. Learn the definition of a new word every day. There’s one I wish I had started a long time ago. The possibilities are endless, and so are the benefits.
So, in that space, L: 1 and 2, list the reading, the practicing and the learning. (Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to email you a copy of the sheet I use.) You will be adding knowledge and wisdom to your beautiful days and giving yourself something no one can take away from you and the biggest blessing of giving glory to your Creator by renewing your mind as we are encouraged to do in the Scriptures.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:2
Thanks for listening, God bless you,
Vickie
Glory Renewed 