Today I celebrate my last day of being 59.
No, not like some women celebrate being 39 - again.
Why are we women so touchy about our age anyway? I wonder about that. Does it have anything to do with how highly we value youth & beauty in our culture? That's not a bad thing. I spend time on Facebook looking at my young friends' photos of their new babies - and my even younger friends' prom pictures from last week-end. So cute. So young. So beautiful. But how sad if our obsession with youth and beauty causes us to devalue age and maturity.
Birthdays are milestones, to be sure, and not always pleasant ones. Lots of thoughts have been swirling in my mind about this big one coming tomorrow. I guess the main thing that bubbles to the surface is celebration. I have so many reasons to celebrate. The most obvious one in my mind is that, after being diagnosed with cancer at age 53, I didn't know whether I would see this day. Yep, I'm a big advocate for getting old - because it sure beats the alternative. I am also blessed to be in many ways in better health than I was at the last big b-day. Back then, I was what my doctor called "de-conditioned" - translated "badly out of shape" - when I couldn't pass a stress test. Now I'm able to walk a mile (or two or three) at a time. Yesterday I walked four!!!
But probably the best thing that has happened in the last decade is that I have been catapulted from religious obligation to spiritual freedom. Not freedom to make selfish choices, but freedom to set healthy boundaries - and especially freedom to discover grace. It really is amazing and I'm so glad that I get to experience it.
Many times during those 59+ years, I realized that mine has been a good life and I'm thrilled to discover that at least in some ways it just keeps getting better. That's something to celebrate!
No comments:
Post a Comment