Still Becoming
Growing Older Without Growing Old
“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” — Psalm 92:14
Welcome To The Seasoned Years!
I turned 69 yesterday, which means I can still say I'm in my sixties for one more year. Somehow that sounds considerably better than saying I'm almost in my seventies!
I've decided I'm not becoming a senior citizen anyway. I'm becoming a seasoned citizen.
There are a few more wrinkles, some things don't move quite as quickly as they once did, and I've learned that skinned knees really are easier to heal than broken hearts.
But I've also lived long enough to know something I couldn't have known at twenty-nine: growing older and growing old are not the same thing.
What The Years Give Us
We spend the first part of life wanting to grow up and much of the second wondering how it happened so quickly.
Yet the years have given me things youth never could. I've loved deeply, lost painfully, laughed until I cried, made plenty of mistakes, received more grace than I could ever measure, and discovered that Abba has been faithful through every season.
I don't want my remaining years defined by regrets over what is behind me.
There are still dreams in my heart, people to love, encouragement to give, questions to ask, and plenty of reasons to get out of bed tomorrow morning.
Still Bearing Fruit
The Psalmist says we can still bear fruit in old age and remain fresh and green.
YES!
Abba isn't gradually putting us out to pasture while we wait for heaven.
His Kingdom isn't somewhere I'm going when this life is over; it's the life I'm already sharing with Him today and will continue sharing with Him forever.
Today is incredibly valuable.
The Best Age To Be
Maybe the best age isn't twenty-five, forty-five, or even sixty-nine.
The best age is the one I get to live today.
I can't go backward, and I don't need to hurry forward.
I can enjoy the wisdom the years have given me without losing the wonder of a child who still believes Papa has something beautiful around the next corner.
So here's to becoming wonderfully seasoned—still dreaming, still laughing, still loving, and still bearing fruit.
We're not running out of life; we're living more deeply into the Life that never ends.
Reflection
Am I measuring my life by my years or by the Life within me?
What dream has Abba kept alive in my heart?
Who can experience His love through me in this season?
Prayer
Abba Father, thank You for every year and every season. Keep me young in wonder, rich in love, and fruitful in the life we share. Amen.