Like chapters in a book, so are the days of our lives

Ugh! Another birthday… Several people I know made a big deal about turning 40. I didn’t seem to mind, but now that I’m in my 50’s, well that’s a different story! It seems like everyday I wake up to some ailment in my body and I don’t seem to have the energy like I once had. All right, I’ll quit whining for now, but it does suck getting older. The first chapter of Ecclesiastes starts out like this:

Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them” (NIV)

I’ve also heard the last line said this way “I find no delight in this“. As I grow older, I’m starting to relate to what Solomon is saying. As the years pass by, they seem to take their toll on us both physically and mentally. Not trying to be a downer here, but its true. First we deny growing older, then we fight to stay young and fit, then one day we wake up and say I find no delight in this! If I’d had known what it would be like to be older, I would have taking the time to appreciate my younger years a lot more. 🙂 I work at a University and as I walk across campus I enjoy watching the younger generation. I have to chuckle sometime watching the drama of them stressing out over exams or writing some term paper. Inside, I’m thinking, Oh wait until life really hits ya! you’re in for a real treat.

One good thing I have notice, is that the scope of life has changed. Things seem more defined, like going from digital TV to High Definition. Take for example intimacy. There are many variations and depths of intimacy we encounter. I can remember sitting with my Mom reading a book, or working on the old truck engine with Dad. Remember sharing your first kiss? The feeling you felt pressing your lips against another for the first time. How about the time when you shared your wedding vows with your spouse. Oh, and lets not forget the intimacy found making love with your spouse. The feeling of fingers running across your skin, and the mornings waking up beside the one you love, or sharing a cup of coffee and talking about various topics of life. I remember the first time holding our newborn babies, smelling the newness of life, and standing in awe over the miracle in my arms. Yes, intimacy could be found with the passing of a love one. Sitting beside the bed, spending the last precious moments of life until they are no more. Experiencing all these variations of intimacy adds color and depth to life that cannot be found in books or through education. Life seems to have more clarity after you have lived if for sometime.

Growing older we face yet another pondering question. The way I see it, each life is a book with chapters representing each year we lived. Some books have many chapters, some have few. The important thing is not the amount of chapters in the book, but does the book have value? So I often ask myself, am I making a difference or am I just wasting time. Many people, especially in America, chase after the dream of lots of money and enough things to retire on, not that there is anything wrong with that, but in the end does this really add lasting value? Eventually, we start grasping for anything in our lives which would bring value, but in most cases, sad to say, a lot of people find more regrets.

So what kind of book are we? Will our book just sit on the shelf and be forgotten? Or will people remember our life’s passion and purpose, which brought value to not just to ourselves, but those we lived life with.