I just turned 60 years old and spent my last day of being 50-ish walking with my beautiful wife on a frozen lake in Utah. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and there was two feet of snow covering the red sandstone cliffs of Zion. The wind was blowing, as is usual for this area, which made the temperature drop significantly. I bundled up in several layers of clothing consisting of a variety of shirts, a down vest, yak wool cap from Nepal and a wind resistant nylon shell. I was feeling pretty good for being 60.
As much as I love hiking way up in a high mountain pass,(I am about to give up one of my “happy places”), I prefer to be sitting with my bare feet and toes dug into the polished coral sands of a Hawaiian North Shore beach, where after visiting a shrimp shack for coconut shrimp, Ted’s bakery for a slice of lemon chiffon pie and gorging on a cornucopia of tropical fruits I would just simply wander out to Sunset Beach and plant myself in the sand imagining myself sailing with the trade winds southwest towards Vanuatu.
Have you ever had a moment where time felt like it stood still? Where there was a quality to the moment, a serene pleasantness, where the sun warmed your face, the food was great and the company endearing. It is a moment where a familiar aroma, like your mother’s favorite sweater, reminds you of a moment long lost to the ravages of time passing. But then again, you know that in the twinkling of an eye you will be reunited in heaven.
I never have enjoyed celebrating birthdays at a restaurant with all the ribbons, bows and balloons and detest having a waiter bring a muffin sized cake with a single lit candle to my table. I don’t really feel any different than when I was eighteen except for a life full of experiences and wisdom to draw from, knees that refuse to obey when I say “I am getting up” or trying to read any text smaller than font sized fourteen.
On a positive note, turning sixty means that I am getting closer to my final destination where I will at last receive my eternal inheritance. I don’t know what I would do, how I would feel if I did not have a strong faith in God? There are so many people who do not believe there is a final destination. Instead they prefer to believe in one final breath, one last heart beat where their consciousness fades into the blackness of nothingness.
That thought just is not comforting to me. I pray the Lord will give me peace as I slip from this present world and into the next. I don’t want to go kicking and screaming like so many I have seen pass while making pastoral visits. On the other hand some people pass gracefully, with a smile, sigh and a kind last word. In contrast others pass while cursing their Creator.
Why is it so difficult for some to believe that we are a jewel in our Maker’s crown? That we are fearfully and wonderfully made? A Swiss watch or elaborate grandfather clock’s design pales in comparison to the structure and function of any organ in the human body or even just one single cell.
Have you discovered what a great sense of humor God has? As He allows us to dabble in science, postulate theories for our origin and the origin of other species, while allowing us to continue to follow a trail of bread crumbs which ultimately points to our Divine creation.
Have you considered the precision to which our nervous system’s ability to motivate our muscles, regulate our heart, the way in which we breath or the mystery of sight. If you truly study these amazing systems you have to see a magnificent design and ultimately how marvelous our Creator is!
When I reflect on all these things I realize that turning sixty is not so bad. I have enjoyed meeting many people, seeing some pretty amazing places and experiencing some very breathtaking moments. However, everything in this life is going to be a blip on heaven’s radar screen. The bible says that no eye has seen nor ear has heard the things that God has prepared for us in heaven.
For now we live in this world but we are not of this world. There is a new kingdom on our horizon where Jesus will rule and reign forever and we will live in eternity with him. So turning sixty is not so bad because today is the day of our salvation; let us trust in Him and His ability to keep His promises.
