THOUGHTS ON TURNING 68

On the occasion of turning sixty-eight, I thought I'd make a few statements and observations.

It feels strange that I've now lived longer than my mother did.  She died two months before attaining this age.

In my whole life, I never once looked forward to turning sixty-eight.  It happened with no fanfare, no cake, no special dinner, no family gathering, no candles, no singing...birthdays change as you get older!  Debbie did present me with a really special card, two new flannel shirts and a bag of chocolates!  My family all sent birthday texts to celebrate the event.  I got a birthday card from my 403b plan;  also one from Debbie's Aunt Bonnie Lou!  My Facebook friends inundated me with greetings!  It took me over two hours to respond to them all...

Thus far, I've faced no age that has presented itself as a crisis age.  I look forward to turning seventy because I'm committed to eating a whole package of Klondike bars that day!  When I turn seventy-five, I plan to eat a whole dozen DeAngelis cream-filled donuts (if they're still open).  

I have distinct liabilities:

• My hearing grows increasingly bad!  It hinders my desire to be with people and even to attend church.
• I no longer sleep well through the night.  An uninterrupted  four-hour-sleep is a welcome thing!
• I've heard my father and siblings speak of arthritis problems for years.  I'm now beginning to experience this unwelcome guest in my shoulders at night - another sleep interruptor.
• Throughout my younger years I loved staying up late at night and getting up early in the morning.  I've finally given up the late-at-night thing.  First, I gave up on late-night comedians.  Next I gave up on 10:00 PM shows - I missed too many endings.  Now, I find myself struggling to make it till 10:00 PM.  9:30 PM seems to be my new bedtime!
• I still get up at 5:30 AM.  Often it's to drive for Lyft, but it's also because I can't take the pain of staying in bed any longer.  Sleeping in is a luxury I no longer enjoy.
• I recently embarked on a renewed effort to lift weights, exercise and walk.  I had to reduce my effort due to lower back pain.

I also have significant blessings:

• I serve a risen Savior and live with the hope of Heaven!
• I have a faithful wife!
• My family loves me!
• I have two incredible grandchildren!
• We own our home.
• The Social Security Administration makes monthly deposits to my bank account!
• The Free Methodist Pension Department does the same!
• For the most part, I enjoy driving for Lyft at least several days a week which further advances my bank account.
• Thanks to Troy (and help from friends and family) we have a wonderful two-car garage!
• We own three vehicles:  2003, 2005, and 2008.
• In addition, we own a cabin at the Tri-State Campground (thanks in part to Travis) and a 2001 fifth-wheel-camper.
• My wonderful, soft bed is pre-warmed all winter by a mattress heater.
• We have a freezer full of food and a well-stocked pantry!
• Our dog seems to really like me.
• The neighbors appear to think I'm okay.
• We go on vacations at least several weeks every year.
• I have friends from MANY different countries!

Did you notice that my blessings outnumber my liabilities?  They really do - by far!  I'm a fortunate and blessed man!  My life isn't as active and engaged as it was even four years ago, but I still have more to be thankful for than I'm capable of reviewing in a brief blog article.  Thanks be to God - let's see what this next year holds.

Will I hit the Appalachian Trail again?

Will we find an opportunity to serve in another country?

Will I finish any of the three books I've started?

Will I volunteer for Samaritan's Purse?

Will we make our much-awaited trip out west?

Stay tuned for the answers...

QUESTIONS FROM THE SEASONS OF LIFE

I've been re-reading one of the classics that helped form my life, "A RESILIENT LIFE:  You Can Move Ahead, No Matter What" by Gordon MacDonald.

In one of his chapters [7] he speaks of foreseeing the great questions of the passage of life.  Interestingly, he couches this discussion in the context of lessons for worship leaders who plan and lead worship for a multi-aged congregation.  He considers it important for that worship planner/leader to give consideration to the variant frames of reference of his or her worshippers.

His supposition:  "As the questions change, so does the content (and perhaps the form) of our spiritual interests."  (p.50)  Then, he extrapolates to help that worship planner/leader as they prepare for this monumental task.

The life questions of twenty-somethings

• What kind of man or woman am I becoming?
• How am I different from my mother or father?
• Where can I find a few friends who will welcome me as I am and who will offer the familylike connections that I need [or never had]?
• Can I love, and am I loveable?
• What will I do with my life?
• What is it that I really want in exchange for my life's labors?
• What parts of me and my life need correction?
• Around what person or conviction will I organize my life?

The life questions of thirty-somethings

• How do I prioritize the demands being made on my life?
• How far can I go in fulfilling my sense of purpose?
• Because these folks are so busy getting life's routines established, there is little growing recognition that one's primary community is changing.  The friends of youth have gone off in different directions - some married, some single and some perhaps to other parts of the world!  Therefore:  Who are the people with whom I walk through life?
• Spiritual questions no longer center on the ideals of youth but on the realities of a life that is tough and unforgiving.  Life's requirements offer little time for contemplation and spiritual revitalization.  Therefore:  What does my spiritual life look like?  Do I even have time for one? 
• There can also be a nagging thought:  Why am I not a better person?

The life questions of forty-somethings

• The complexities of life further accelerate - and this is worrisome.  We are expected to handle the bumps and bruises of life with an unshakeable courage.  Panic and fear are for the younger and older, but in the forties the expectation is that one is solid.  Therefore:  Who was I as a child, and what powers back then influence the kind of person I am today?
• Why do some people seem to be doing better than I?
• Why am I often disappointed with myself and others?
• Why are limitations beginning to outnumber options?
• The forties can be dangerous.  Bodies change.  Children become independent, even begin to leave home.  Marriages have to be readjusted to face new realities.  Some enjoy financial leverage while others wonder if they'll ever be financially secure.  Some give up the struggle and try to go backward in hopes of retrieving earlier pleasures.  Therefore:  Why do I seem to face so many uncertainties?
• What can I do to make a greater contribution to my generation?
• What would it take to pick up a whole new calling in life and do the thing I've always wanted to do?

The life questions of fifty-somethings

• Fifty somethings begin to realize that they have moved across life's middle.  Now one finds him/herself wondering how many years are left.  The news of friends dying, marriages dissolving, and people moving to places of retirement increase.  It is a time for sober thinking.  Therefore:  Why is time moving so fast?
• Why is my body becoming unreliable?
• How do I deal with my failures and my successes?
• How can my spouse and I reinvigorate our relationship now that the children are gone?
• Who are these young people who want to replace me at work?
• What do I do with my doubts and fears?
• Will we have enough money for the retirement years if there are health problems or economic downturns?  

The life questions of sixty-somethings

• When do I stop doing the things that have always defined me?
• Why do I feel ignored by a large part of the younger population?
• Why am I curious about who is listed in the obituary column of the paper, how they died, and what kinds of lives they lived?
• Do I have enough time to do all the things I've dreamed about in the past?
• Who will be around me when I die?
• If married, which one of us will go first, and what is it like to say good-bye to someone with whom you have shared so many years of life?
• Are the things I've believed in capable of taking me to the end?
• Is there really life after death?
• What do I regret?
• What are the chief satisfactions of these many years of living?
• What have I done that will outlive me?

The life questions of those in their seventies, eighties and nineties...

• Does anyone realize, or even care, who I once was?
• Is anyone aware that I once owned (or managed) a business, threw a mean curve ball, taught school, possessed a beautiful solo voice, had an attractive face?  
• Is my story important to anyone?
• How much of my life can I still control?
• Is there anything I can still contribute?
• Why this anger and irritability?
• Is God really there for me?
• Am I ready to face death?
• When I die (how will it happen?), will I be missed, or will the news of my death bring relief?
• Heaven?  What is it like?

It seems to me that those of us who populate churches might be better friends and neighbors if we periodically re-acquainted ourselves with these life questions.  Just saying...

AN INTERVENTION OF GOD?

In watching the news over the last several days, I've been motivated to write today about another possibility.  We've just emerged from a time of major crisis!  We were at a point where war was imminent!   If the Iran missiles had taken lives, then President Trump's response would have been very different.  It's likely that we would be in a full-fledged conflagration with Iran right now.

First of all:  thanks be to God!  No one wants war!

I've heard two prominent explanations for the fact that no lives were lost as a result of the Iranian retribution launch.  First, some say that they deliberately launched with no intent to take American lives.  The evidence for this is supported by the fact that via Iraq, they notified the American forces BEFORE the launch.  The destruction of property has been catalogued, but no loss of life was documented.

However, there's a second view that has been put forward by the Presidents' Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley.  He suggested that the Iranians did target with the intention of killing American troops.  This implies either incompetence [rather than intention] or faulty equipment as the reason that no lives were lost.  Hmmm...who is right?

I would suggest another alternative - one that I hope someone brings to the attention of our president. In my humble opinion, it is the most likely scenario.

On the evening of the Iranian threats and launch, thousands of military families were thrown into alarm.  Their family members (sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers) were in the midst of the crisis.  Their response?  PRAYER!

However, not only those military families prayed;  tens of thousands of Christians across this country (maybe even more) began to cry out to God for protection over our troops!  The throne of God was assaulted with a barrage of prayers seeking protection for our forces in harm's way!  It's impossible to gauge this response or even imagine how many were calling on God's mercy and power.

And I believe God responded by diverting these missiles away from our hunkered down troops!  I don't know if God used angels to alter the direction of these missiles or if God used a finger to do so. Or perhaps the great God Almighty simply willed them to their fruitless destinations.  But the end result was clear:  there was NO LOSS OF LIFE!

To those who may agree with this assessment, please join me in praying that someone will alert President Trump to this third possibility.  He needs to have a greater understanding of the power of God.  He needs to be given the opportunity to at least consider that we are not at war today because GOD INTERVENED in response to the united prayers of His people!

THANKS BE TO GOD!  

Let's also lift our prayers to God for the grieving families who lost loved ones in the Ukrainian jet that was mistakenly shot down a few hours after the missile launch!  In an unimaginable and ironic twist, they are suffering the loss that was intended for the Americans.

God, comfort the grieving in their anger and pain.  Awaken Iran and its leaders to Your awesome power and love!  For the Kingdom's sake.  Amen.