Today is my 40th birthday. I fielded a few jokes today but in reality I have had a little time to reflect on how quickly forty years has flown by! Scriptures refer to life as a mist that burns off when the sun rises or is blown away by the wind. It is a fragile and frail thing that gains momentum. I think the phrase “over the hill” is a very apt illustration of life. The first half has seemed like a “becoming something”. It has taken me 40 years to become a Pastor. I am still learning and still growing, but I am at a good place, settled into the pace and rhythm of week, month, season and year.
I like the picture of over the hill, because the first half is a striving to become and although I do not intend to coast, the work of the first half is propelling me into the second! And going down hill means speed.
If I believed that this life is all that there is, then this speed would be very disconcerting. My life has been moving faster and faster, and the seasons begin to blur. But I know where this pace is taking me, and the promise of God in Christ of salvation and new creation make me welcome that blur!
I have lived a very blessed 40 on this spinning ball. I am grateful! I am undeserving! I am a product of many people who have invested in me in the uphill climb to be a Pastor. And now my mind turns toward the second Act . . . and I pray that God keeps me faithful to His calling and uses me in His Kingdom to transform lives as we all are running this race together. And as we run together, don’t think I am fearful of this pace . . . I have the blessing of running down the hill to meet my Savior!
