It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by so fast! Where does the time go?! Now, I’m starting to sound like my parents did so many years ago, when I wondered what they meant. Back then, time seemed to drag by ever so slow. You know how it is when you are in your teenage years. You can’t wait to be old enough to drive, date, get your first job and all of the other things you have on your list of essentials to growing up. It seems like once you finally cross each goal that you accomplish, one at a time, off of the list, you find yourself saying as I am saying, today, Where does the time go?!”

Well, here I am, many years later. Today is my birthday. This year it’s not just any birthday. This is a big one, because I turned 60 this year. For some reason, growing older has never really bothered me until this year. I think getting my Golden Buckeye card in the mail kind of had something to do with it. And if that’s not bad enough, there is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t receive a notice in the mail from a nursing home, inviting me not to work there, but to live there! Worse yet, I get dozens of advertisements urging me to plan my funeral in advance. The other day, I received a notice in the mail to attend a seminar on how to live with Osteoporosis and back pain. Thank goodness, I wasn’t able to fit it into my schedule because I was too busy working out and walking on my treadmill. I have news for them! I am not going down without a fight!

I’ve done a lot of pondering over this whole aging process and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is an art to aging gracefully. It really can be done. Age is just a number and you can’t listen to what the world says about you. You have to take it with a grain of salt and smile as you remember what God says about you. He calls you blessed. He says you will flourish as you age. You will still bear fruit in old age. Psalm 103:5 says, God satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. We can learn a lot from the Proverbs 31 woman. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. See, we really can age gracefully and we can even laugh as we are doing it!

This morning as I was on my way to church, I turned my radio on and listened to Sunday praise music. One of my favorite hymns came on the radio, “In the ‘Garden.” I’ve loved that song since I was a little girl. Isn’t that just like God to bless us with everything that makes our heart sing?! As I was singing those precious words,
” He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” His love just flooded my soul on this sunny morning! God and I had a little talk on my way to church, and it changed my entire perspective. First off, I am an eleven year Thyroid cancer survivor. That in itself, is a reason to not worry about age. I’m just so thankful and blessed to be here! God gave me a whole new outlook today. I realized something that is so true. My eyes were opened to the reality of something that I’ve often overlooked over the years. Do you know how when it’s your birthday, you always feel special?! It’s your own special day, created just for you?! It’s because God and all of heaven is celebrating you on your birthday. God says he knew you when you were still in your mother’s womb. He knew you before you were ever born. He knew you before one of your days ever came to be. The day you were born, God celebrated you!!! He rejoiced over you with singing! Every birthday that you will ever have, God and all of heaven will be celebrating you! He will be with you throughout your lifetime. He will never leave you or forsake you. From the moment you take your first breath until your very last, He is with you for all of your days! When you breathe your last breath here and you take your first breath in heaven, He is there to take you by the hand and lead you home. You can never get out of His presence. He will be with you now all of your days and throughout every day of your life. He not only celebrates your birthdays, He celebrates you every day. Even if no one else in this whole wide world celebrates you, He will love you every step of the way. You can never get away from His furious love. You are His prized possession. You are beautiful in His eyes! Just like the song says, “He is the God of all your days!”

Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

With all this in mind, today, I want to urge you to never waste a single moment worrying about your age. Give your days to God. He will sustain you and satisfy you with His favor and all of life’s richest treasures, including a light and merry heart. Enjoy every moment, drink it all in, hug your loved ones. Laugh, love, eat, drink, and savor every last drop of this crazy, over the top, BEAUTIFUL life!!!!

I love you guys!
Brenda