2011 Milestone

Okay, so what are some of the big happenings of the past year? Let me think here…traveled to Colorado for closing activities at Timberline, read Subversive Spiritually by Eugene Peterson, celebrated my 50th birthday, became an Employment Services Specialist (this is akin to a friend who began driving an 18 wheeler and introduced himself as a relocation specialist), participated in the Wear a Tea Cozy on Your Head Day, turned part of our yard into a garden, got a piano for the girls, saw the autumn leaves and the snow-capped peaks of the Smokey’s…and was lowered over a wall in a basket (not really).

It’s probably no surprise to you that the one I’m most thoughtful about is that big 5-0 milestone. It occurs to me that this is a strategic time in a man’s life, albeit an uncertain one. It’s like having been on a fantastic expedition with an unbelievably good guide. He leads you into a clearing where you come to a swinging bridge over a foggy ravine leading into an unknown land. There’s some fear, some trepidation but also a rumbling of excitement. You see the possibilities, and you trust the guide.

A milestone birthday (or the beginning of a new year for that matter) is not a time to give up on God-given dreams but a time to rediscover the adventure He has written into the stories of our lives. It’s a time to live by faith and not by sight - not letting a heap of mid-life worries steal away tomorrow. It’s a time to reaffirm that all we really need in our life is simply Jesus, experiencing the One our hearts long for.