“So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

                                                                                    2 Corinthians 4:16

Riots. That’s what my “friends” are. Just side-splitting, laugh til you cry funny.

I received a lot of birthday cards, emails, and well wishes this weekend. And while it’s nice to be remembered, let me share with you a couple of expressions of “love” I received in those cards.

You’re in your sixties and you say you’re middle aged. How many 120-year-old men do you know?

I told my son Rev. Dan was having a birthday and he asked how old you were. I said, “61”. He thought for a while and then said, “Did he start at 1?”

There were a couple others that were really funny, but discretion being the better part of valor and liking my job, I’d probably better not share them here.

I have hit that age where my mind still says, “Sure, go ahead, you can do it”, but my body says, “You go ahead. I think I’ll sit this one out.” There are pains in new places just about every day, my memory at times is foggy at best, and my kids make fun of me for just about any reason. (So what if I can’t understand technology . . . I can recite John Wesley’s theological summation on the difference between prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. That counts, right?)

And the truth is . . . I wouldn’t have it any other way. Getting old is a gift, one I never thought I’d have when I was diagnosed with cancer eighteen years ago. Every day now is an adventure and a joy and even when I ache and my bones creak, I thank God for every one of those pains and funny noises my body makes. They are a sign that I am still here and therefore I have a purpose in God’s design.

Thanks be to God for all the trials of growing old. They are indeed a wonderous gift.

And thanks be to God for Biofreeze and Ibuprofen to help take the aches and pains away.

Eternal Father thank you for the days of our lives. Help us to honor you with the way we live them. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.