Reelin' in the Years

For most of us, we mark time by the Christmas holidays. Christmas has a way of reminding us how fast the year has sped by, and how like the old Steely Dan song says, we are "reelin' in the years." A decade ago we were concerned about Y2K - a whole decade ago - but it seems so recent, like maybe a couple of years ago. Where does all this time go? It just dawned on me this morning that the 70"s will soon be four decades away in the rear view mirror. Am I really that old?

I don't know about you, but in my mind I stopped aging at about 30. Seriously, I still think of myself as around 30, and I have to remind myself that I'm 54 (I hesitated typing that!). In my mind, I have the same athletic ability I had then. Not that I was a great athlete, but at least I haven't diminished. But at times, my body tells me different. Like when I go to the health club and I see what these guys in their 20's or 30's are doing, and in my mind I'm with them, but in reality I'm with the senior citizens on the treadmill.

I don't like the fact that my hair is starting to get a little grey. Someone called it "salt and pepper" the other day. But I think that is an exaggeration. I see guys my age or younger, but I know they look older than me. I'm a young looking 54.

I love it when I hear that line that, "50 is the new 30." I want that to be true. I have so much I want to do and accomplish. And I refuse to let a "number" stand in my way. I want to be like Caleb, who refused to let his physical age stand in the way of his taking the mountain. I want to always be looking ahead with dreams and visions for the future. I hope to die with some dreams unfulfilled, because when we stop dreaming, we stop really living. I want to live life to the fullest, up to the very last minute.

In addition to all this, I want to be continually changing. I want to grow more and more in the image of Christ. Like Bob Dylan has said, "He who is not busy bein' born, is busy dyin'." I want to continue, to the very end of my days, experiencing the transforming work of Jesus Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit.

I like how Eugene Peterson in The Message has interpreted the words of the apostle Paul in Second Corinthians 4:16, "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace."

So we keep "reelin' in the years!"