Today I turned 59 years old. If all goes as expected, I have one more year in my 50s. Not that anyone knows the future. I may never see 60. I’ve got my reservation guaranteed and I’m not sweating that. I’ll have to think about being 60 next year. Right now I need to think about being 59.
“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
I do remember the first time my age bothered me. I had friends who sweated turning 30. There were friends who created a mid-life crisis and made their 40s memorable in an unhappy way. But it was 50 for me. I’m slow on the uptake, but when I turned 50 I began to face the reality that I was growing older. It just felt like a significant number, in a way those previous birthdays didn’t.
Growing up I always heard people say that as you age the years go by faster. In 1939 Church of Christ hymnist Tillit S. Teddlie wrote, Swiftly we’re turning life’s daily pages, Swiftly the hours are changing to years; How are we using God’s golden moments, Shall we reap glory, Shall we reap tears?
It’s a good question - how are we using the time we have? Birthdays remind us of the passing of time. I know, it’s just another day. The schedules and duties we have remain in place. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what I do and how I do it and how it can be done better (because it surely can).
“You’re never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
I’m afraid it’s easier to just stay on the path, keep plodding along, and don’t stir up too much angst. But that’s not a very appealing plan, is it? I recently read James Clear’s Atomic Habits. I went into it with a cynical view, but he won me over. I plan to read it again soon. So much of what we experience in our personal lives relate to our habits. And often our habits are set in place by our own doing. All of that is to say that there are realistic changes we can make in our own lives if we are only willing to do it.
Birthdays ought to remind us of the journey ahead in life. It’s not always clear, but we shouldn’t be focused backward. We need to engage in the renewal of idealistic forward progress. Progress in faith, in health, in relationships, and in recovery from the significant hurts of life.
Another thing birthdays ought to remind us of is how blessed we are by the people in our lives. The beginning of my 59th year finds me in love with the beautiful Maggy, married for 35 years (give that woman a trophy!). We have a talented and lovely daughter, Heather Holland, who gave us two precious grandchildren. My sweet mother lives nearby and my adventurous brother just had his 56th birthday. Extended family and friends fill our thoughts and Facebook timelines.
"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." - Madeleine L'Engle
And I suppose birthdays can’t help but remind us of those who are not here to celebrate with us. Though we wish they were, we also have not lost their influence in our lives. They remain with us in our thoughts and sometimes in our tears.
So our typical birthday celebrations are centered around food. Surprise. We usually go out to eat someplace chosen by the person having the birthday. We are fairly low-key about it all. Usually, no big gifts. Instead of a big cake and too many candles, these past few years it’s been cupcakes. I like it this way. This year, for me, it’s the last day of a week of vacation (staycation). Tomorrow is a new month, it’s a get-back-to-work day. And I’m ready to do that. If you read all of this, you are a special friend indeed.
Thank you!
My other Substack Newsletter is called Sermons From Forsythe. If you are interested in Christian sermon notes, class notes, and devotional writings, please subscribe HERE.
Fiction I’m Reading: J. R. Ellis’ eighth entry in his Yorkshire Murder Mysteries. This one is The Railway Murders. If you have Kindle Unlimited you can read all of them without extra charges.
NonFiction I’m Reading: In The Lord I Take Refuge by Dane Ortland. I have written earlier about being enchanted by the Psalms. Ortland offers a few thoughts on each of the Psalms, and I have found them to be helpful and interesting. A friend recommended his book Gentle and Lowly, and I look forward to reading that.
What I’m Watching: Nothing. I am fairly disenchanted with television right now.
As someone who also turned 59 this year - and who also read Atomic Habits during the year - this really resonated with me! Thank you, John. As much as age is just a number, on one level, I think in other ways those numbers are (or can be) significant in the ways of God with us. May this next year be a blessed one, John, as you serve him with gladness.
🎂🎉 Happy Brithday