A Great Procession
Maybe it’s because my favorite farmer turned 40 this month.
Maybe it’s because I’m about to.
Who knows why exactly, but lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about getting older. Not in an obsessive, I’m-going-to-get-more-gray-hair-and-wrinkles way. And not in an I’m-going-to-die-and-I’m-freaking-out way.
I used to be scared of the wrinkles; and I used to be frightened by the dying.
Let’s just lay it out there: We’re all terminal. These days, the death rate on Earth is at 100 percent. Each day past, is one more closer to the exit.
Depressing? Nah.
The fact that we’re getting older can paralyze us, or it can set our hearts free to live fuller days.
Not fuller calendars, but fulfilled moments.
Not fuller houses, but fulfilled hearts.
Not fuller bank accounts, but fulfilled living.
Me?
I think I’m going to eat more cake,
and spit more watermelons seeds.
I’m going to wear the age I am,
but refuse to act my age.Â
I’m going to jump on the trampoline,
and get caught with chocolate frosting on my chin.
Perhaps I’ll climb a tree, and if I make it back down,
maybe I’ll run another half-marathon someday?
And when I look in the mirror,
I’m going to see the lines on my face as
nothing more than love-etched years.
And God-willing, for many years to come,Â
I’m going to find a spot to rest my ever-aging head
beside my favorite farmer.
“Remember you are a part of a great procession
which is always moving by;
others come and go before your own eyes,
you see them,
and they disappear,
and you yourself are moving onward
to another and more real world.”
— Charles Spurgeon
I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
— John 10:10 (the birthday boy’s favorite verse)
“to another and more real world” Yes! I so agree…want to have a watermelon seed spitting contest? đ
Blessings!
This post reminded me of something I read recently…
“She’s a smiley woman. All her wrinkles are smile wrinkles.” {Mr Pentland describing Miz Henderson in “Christy”}
I read that and thought, “I want people to say that about me.”
I think it’d be great fun to climb a tree and eat some chocolate cake while sitting on the branches.
Of course, miss Susan!
I wrote my comment and then read yours. No big surprise we came up with the same take on chocolate and trees! No surprise at all. đ
Blessings.
Happy 40th Birthday to your Favorite Farmer! And Happy (Almost) 40th Birthday to you! Love the cake, and I love your attitude. I also love, love, love that we are moving onward to a “more real” world. So much food for the imagination in that.
{For what it’s worth, I’m way ahead of you in this procession, and I just keep finding more and more to celebrate.}
Happy B-day to Hubby! Great attitude! I finally adopted this attitude back about your age as well. You’re right. No one gets out of this life alive! With the proper perspective from God in us, getting older is a huge blessing! Wisdom from God with age is a blessing..,
Great post.
Happy 40th Birthday………..
As Brandi Carlile sings:
“All these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been
And how I got to where I am…”
You can’t have 40 – I took it instead of 60. You’ll have to pick a different number.
Happy Birthday, FF!
I liked 40. I liked it so much that I’m getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Happy birthday to your favorite farmer. And his favorite farm wife.
Indeed, if you take the chocolate with you up the tree, there won’t be any rush to get back down. Of course you should just put the trampoline under the tree and jjjjjuuuuuummmmmmmpppppp down. And what’s this “act your age” talk? Rubbish I tell you, rubbish. Act your shoe size instead. (yes, rather like me) đ
Happy b-day blessings to the farmer dude!
Such a healthy perspective Jennifer! And I love the Spurgeon quote!! Thank you for this!!
“Whatever” indeed! I like 40. I never expected to live this long, so it’s still sort of a surprise. I just wish my mom could have lived to have seen me turn 40. I need her now more than ever.
Ah, yer jus a yung’un! đ
forty feels like twenty to me. it just didn’t bother me at all to hit that milestone. i love my life more every day. happy birthday to your farmer!
I love this, Jennifer! God has put eternity in our hearts, right? Time seems to accelerate as the years go by. I’ve been working hard to keep the peace I found last week while on vacation. Noticing life. That makes it overflow. I think you’re pretty good at that.