We're Not Getting Older, Just More Experienced

Welcome to June. Hard to believe this year is half over. The longer you're on this Earth, the more you understand what James meant when he said, "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears." (James 4:14). Notice I didn't say "As you grow older you understand...". I'm no longer growing older.

I turned 50 last year and speak at times of getting old or being old. Yesterday, Pastor Holly Johnson said I really need to stop speaking of being old. She said to simply stop speaking it and do not even recognize any advancement in years. She's right, we need to be careful of the words we speak, even the ones about ourselves. Matthew 12:37 says, For by our words we will be justified, and by our words we will be condemned.

But, it's not so much that it's an age 50 lament, but more observations that I speak of. Things like eating a meal. Have you ever noticed that folks over fifty tend to get small amounts of undetected food on their face at some point during a meal. Eventually, some caring person will say under their breath that there is a small piece of potato salad on your upper lip. Had they not come forward it could have rested there all meal, because those pieces of food somehow always avoid the napkin. It's like the food has legs and can swerve to miss the napkin wipe.

Another observation I have is that my balance is not what it used to be. I know I should not speak this because tomorrow I'll probably topple over like a five foot high stack of books. But there is a great degree of difference in steadiness from my 20's to my 50's.

One other observation I have noticed is the Buick factor. If you're driving along and come up behind a slow moving vehicle, check to see if it's a Buick. Buicks tend to be better appreciated by the after 50 crowd. Now, this theory does not always hold true because my last car was a Buick Regal, which I loved. But I bought it when I was only 47. Hmmm. I won't speak what I'm thinking as I write this. I'm old enough already.