“You’ll never be younger than you are today.” This was a phrase a friend shared with me a few years ago which her husband often quoted. Mark and I have been talking quite a bit lately about how we want to spend the last quarter of our lives. (Actually it’s closer to the two minute mark if you take literally Psalm 90:10 “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” Yikes!)
The photo of us with our grandkids was taken as we stood on a ledge overlooking Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara. A few steps to our left and we would have dropped about 12 feet onto the sand. Ouch! That is how I feel about aging sometimes; we are 12 feet from falling! It’s more important now to watch our steps, to reach for the railing, to be mindful of our pace. And it’s even more important to do the right things to stay healthy and be strong, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. The prep work and determination for this is easier said than done! It’s easier to stay in whatever feels most comfortable in all those areas.
It sounds awkward and uncomfortable to be in these types of conversations during Advent, I know. I recently celebrated a birthday and, as I texted my older brother when he wished me a happy birthday, “I’m too young to be this old!” I’m at the end of a decade, folks, and it’s sobering. As I have been recently reflecting on the life and passing of Mark’s Aunt Phyllis, I’m suddenly seeing the word LEGACY looming large and in front of me. Questions like, “Am I living well, with the goal of finishing well? Am I living the best version of who God wants me to be: authentic, humble, forgiving, compassionate, empathetic, truthful, fruitful, and loving, shaped and formed in His image?” Sobering questions indeed.
I hope to have many more “Nana camps” with our grandkids. It is the delight of my life these days. I’m reminded during this Advent season that the flourishing comes as I pause each day, planted in the loving presence of the Prince of Peace. He is the One who reminds me I can “still bear fruit in old age, I can still stay fresh and green.” (Ps 92:14.) So grateful to still be on the journey.
