Today is the 30th anniversary of my 30th birthday. How can that be? There’s something wrong here with the math. I thought only old people turned 60. I can’t even imagine being this age. I think when I was young I thought I’d be dead by now, or in an old folks home, and yet instead, I’m off to play golf today and making plans for softball this summer. I think it’s my Scandanavian genes. My latest adventure is that I’m taking up Tai Chi – I’ll let ya know how that works out.
I keep a journal, and in it over the last year I have jotted down a few things that I miss as I’ve grown older. Here’s just a smattering of them, in no particular order:
WHAT I MISS AS I’VE AGED:
- Climbing trees
- Bounding up stairs
- Sliding into home plate
- Family that have passed away
- Being able to get up off the floor without holding on to something
- Smooth skin
- Being needed by my kids
- Steady feet to jump from boulder to boulder along a stream
- Sleeping through the night
- Turning a double play at 2nd
- Wearing shoes without support
- Two piece bathing suits
- Being able to down an entire plate of nachos in one sitting
- Sitting cross-legged on the floor
- A flat belly
Right next to that list in my journal is my list of what I appreciate about aging. It’s not quite as long, but I think it weighs more than the first list….
WHAT I APPRECIATE ABOUT AGING:
- Becoming wiser
- Understanding the meaning of grace
- Knowing what God’s destiny for my life is
Life isn’t about how we start or the mistakes we’ve made – trust me…I’ve made plenty. But your past doesn’t define you. It’s about the finish. So if you have regrets….go about the business of looking towards the future and turning those regrets upside down.
So if I were to keep a list of things that I can still do at any age….again, in no particular order, it might look something like this:
WHAT I CAN DO IN LIFE AT ANY AGE:
- Pursue the mystery of grace
- Love others well
- Laugh loud and hard
- Take responsibility for my own junk
- Care for those that are hurting
- Be still and quiet
- Put others before self
- Work hard
- Celebrate my loved ones
- Try a food that I thought was icky before
- Say “I’m sorry” more often
- Have relationship with the one who created me
- Read (or listen) to a good book
- Show I care for others in the little details
- Listen to someone else’s opinion
- Be less defensive
- Fight for humility
- Learn something new
- Practice not having to be right
- Forgive someone who has offended me
- Ask someone their story – and listen
- Give myself permission to pamper myself now and then
So you see, if you compare the first list and the last…there are so many more meaningful things on the horizon for me that I can look forward to. Life doesn’t end with a number. Yeah, I may not be able to dive head first into home plate anymore, but I can dive into relationship with my Creator. And I’ll tell you a secret – the first thing on that list above….that’s where that pursuit of relationship starts. Just sayin’.
Me….I think I’ll focus today on the last thing on that list…cuz I have to keep up the sexy at sixty persona, don’t cha know. Grace is amazing at sixty, and it’s the best gift this girl could ever want for.
The Grace That Shapes My Life 