Thirty

Tomorrow morning, the thirtieth of August I turn thirty years old. Being the youngest of three children, I have always considered myself young. And to be completely honest, I think I always will. We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. Yes, physical age is inevitable, but I do believe that age in the sense of imagination is more a matter of state of mind. When things stop working as you age, you may start to complain. I hear people say all the time, “well, I can’t do that when I was such and such years old.” That’s rubbish I say. Live in the moment. Remember your past; remember your life, as much as you can that is…and live in the present as you think and plan for the brighter future. “Better things are yet to come.” I have heard that statement all my life and I still have not come to understand that to be true. Yes, certain things, like Heaven are still to come and will blow our minds away to say the least, but on earth are things really getting better? I suppose; I don’t suppose. I don’t know. Does it matter? “This too shall pass,” a friend once told me. Now that is an encouraging thought. As we live in this old tent of ours, we are outsiders in a world. Sometimes we feel as though we are living on the Island of Misfit Toys. But the encouragement we get is from above saying, “I find you fit for my Kingdom.” We may be misfits in this world of fashion and technological gadgets trying to keep people young. But it is that very mindset that sets them apart as not seeing what’s around them. Their eyes are on a 4-inch screen or immersed with worry of what to wear to the next party or dance. Open your windows and let the rain or snow flow in. Let the sun shine on your face and catch a glimpse of the beautiful Saviour through the eyes of creation. High mountains, lush, green valleys, deep, blue oceans, bleak deserts and meadows that span miles. Drive the Great Plains, dive in the deep trenches, climb the Rockies, and hike through the Andes. It’s all beckoning and waiting. Won’t we take the plunge?

Okay, so I’m thirty, well not for a few more hours that is. No worries, I am in no way in a hurry to grow up. When I was in Elementary school, a boy younger than me asked me how old I was (I was like one year older than he was) and after I told him he said, “You’re going to die before me because you’re older.” Oh, the things we remember of life! If only the world and the circle of life worked that way. Wouldn’t it be nice? No parent would have to bury their son or daughter. I had a very close friend die a few years ago from heart complications when I was away and unable to see him. He passed just days shy of his 30^th birthday, also in August. As I approach my 30^th, I can’t help but think of him and his outstanding character. Why am I able to reach 3 decades and not him? Why did his tent falter and mine is still standing? I am constantly reminded of his delight and passion for life and what life brings, his love for people and what they bring. I am honored to be among his circle of friends. I say that because though he has left Earth, he is not forgotten and his lust for life and ministry lives on; his zeal comprises a vast amount of what I long to live for. A few days prior to his passing, we had our last conversation and his last words to me were, “We’ll talk soon.” Jason, my friend, we will; we most definitely will. When I get there, I’ll tell you what thirty looks like on this planet.

Birthdays…everyone has one. When you’re young you get excited about them, planning parties and the works. As we physically age, they don’t seem to mean that much to us anymore. Yes, it is always exciting to spend ‘your day’ with family and friends, receive gifts and eat some good food, but in the end, you start your new year the next day only to put ‘your day’ in the past until the next one a year away. Well, okay, I did kind of describe the life cycle, the passing of time. The time machine won’t be invented until another 140 years, I mean *cough, cough* you didn’t hear that from me. And so, time goes on, what we do with that (our) time is up to us…will we sit on our couch wishing we were younger or older? Or will we snap out of it and dust off those old hiking shoes, pump up those tires and hit the trail? The choice is up to us. It’s been said as you get older, time goes by faster. So, what are you waiting for? Time’s a flying away. Adventurize your life! (I don’t know why spell check tells me that adventurism is a word while adventurize is not.) Open the door, fling off the covers and seek something that’s wanted to be sought after. Catch it and take it and don’t forget to smile back.

And there you have it folks. Thirty’s coming for me. I vow to grab it and use it to do something great and venture out into the unknown basin of misunderstanding which sounds awful when put that way. But let me tell you…I won’t forget to smile back.