70?

From a recent Facebook page, anonymous.

“The young feel tired at the end of an action; the old at the beginning.” 

T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)

1949. Me and many of my friends were born that year. And this new year we’ll turn seventy. 70. SEVENTY. That’s caused me to ponder this event for awhile now.

As my friends know, I love to celebrate my birthday. When I turned 50 I started celebrating the entire month of my birthday. Breakfast, lunch and dinner dates with my friends. There aren’t many opportunities to celebrate, and I didn’t want to overlook an occasion!

The week of my 50^th birthday, each day I brought in a homemade treat for my fellow co-workers. I didn’t want black ribbon around my cubicle. I wanted celebration!

When I turned 55 I had the best birthday party of my life! I called it the “Celebration of Friends” party, and invited 16 of my closest friends from elementary school through my life. It was one of the best things I have ever done celebrating all of them!

Turning 40, or 50, or 60 didn’t affect me. I’ve never been bothered about my age. That is until this year. Turning 70 brings with it decisions and actions I’ve not thought about before. I spent a good part of this past November and December thinking about my life. What good have I done. Is there still something for me to do in the time I have left in this world.  I want to make a difference.

Turning 70 brings to light a subject no one enjoys thinking about. Death. Friends will begin to have health concerns. Some will die. I may die. March I'll be four years cancer free. I am thankful for that. I’ve already said goodbye to several friends. I don’t like it. But it is reality.

Yes, Linda, Penny, Steve, Roy, Sharon, Cindy, Susan, Yvonne, Jack, and all those I can’t remember, this is the year. I invite you to join me in considering what you have done and what you can still do for however long you have here on this earth.

There may be gray hair, more weight, thicker glasses and slower reactions, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing more to do.

“Oh Lord, let me not live to be useless.” 

John Wesley (1703-1791)

So this year when my birthday month comes around, and I turn 70 years old, I hope I will have pondered my purpose for these last years of life and stand strong in my determination to be all God wants me to be.

“Little self-denials, little honesties, little passing words of sympathy, little nameless acts of kindness, little silent victories over favorite temptations—these are the silent threads of gold which, when woven together, gleam out so rightly in the pattern of life that God approves.” 

Frederic William Farrar (1831-1903)

The ending of a year is a great time for reflection, for introspection—a time to reevaluate our priorities, look at how we are spending our time, and most importantly, our relationship with God. 

Have we grown closer to Him in the past months or are we slipping farther away? As 2018 is now over, take time to ask yourself—Is God #1 in my life? Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Franklin Graham

My pastor posted this on Facebook: Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 tells us that for every aspect of life we experience them only but for a season. This means that all things are temporary. Biblically God's average life span for mankind is 3 score and 10 or 70 years. Some live much less and some much more, but average life span given is 70. This sounds like a long time, but on the radar screen of time it is only a blip on the screen. Everything that we do and everything that we say matters. Let's do all we can in 2019 to live life with an understanding that each day counts, that each moment matters. "Only one life will soon be past and only what's done for Christ will last!

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

How about you? You may be older than 70 or younger than 70, but taking thought of your life makes sense at any age. It goes by fast. What will you do to make a difference?