Shades of 50
Life is a lesson we never stop learning
In a few short weeks I will be coming face to face with a new decade in my life. That’s right; I will be fifty! A funny thing happens when we approach the half-century mark. We reflect on the time that has passed so quickly, and begin to feel an urgency about the years we have left.
I am not sure where I thought I would be when I turned fifty, but I sure thought that I would “have it all together” by then. I am finding the opposite to be true. When I hit 40, I didn’t even know the Lord and searching for my purpose meant seeking worldly success. As I approach 50, I see the world differently. I look through fresh eyes that God has given me as a new creation in Christ. I am still growing and learning as I go, searching for purpose in places that God calls me to serve him. I’m seeking clarity, yet finding that I am still wading through muddy waters.
My mind is filled with questions. What is my purpose in this new season? Did I find Jesus too late to be of use in His kingdom? What will the next decade look like for a woman who is “past her prime” according to the world’s standards?
As I ponder these things, God faithfully reminds me through His Word that we are never “past our prime” when it comes to being used by Him. Ruth’s marriage to Boaz would not have happened without the influence and encouragement of her mother-in-law Naomi. Mary needed sisterhood with her older relative, Elizabeth, as she faced the overwhelming task of carrying our savior in her womb. Another older woman, Anna, prophesied and strengthened Mary’s faith again when Jesus was a newborn (Luke 2:36-38). These women are beautiful examples of how God can use us in different seasons of our lives if we are faithful to His calling.
As I contemplated this assumed line in the sand that I thought I was crossing over, I realized that it’s not just up to me to decide what next steps I should take. It’s not up to me to decide how I will be used by God. The only thing that is up to me is the decision to faithfully follow the Lord so that He can direct the steps that I am taking. I have been spending so much time seeking to understand when it’s impossible to know everything God has planned.
A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?
Proverbs 20:24 NIV
The purpose that God has for us is a never-ending journey, not a destination we reach. We don’t just get it all together by a certain age or a number on the calendar. We are standing on a line between the past and the future at all times, not just when we leave one decade of life and pass into the next.
Now, as I am approaching this milestone birthday, I can’t wait to see the purposes God will fill through me in the years to come! Fifty is just a number, not an invisible finish line in the race of life. There is so much more life to live and love and give.
Life is a lesson that we never stop learning. Keep growing. Keep giving. Keep living. Even though I am grown up, I never plan to stop growing.
Reflection
How have you found ways to overcome the worry about time passing so quickly?
Where do you find your hope in seasons of doubt?
What lessons do you feel that God is teaching in your life today?
Goals
Share three steps that you plan to take in the coming month to keep growing in your walk with Christ:
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? (Proverbs 20:24 NIV)
Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me – even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons – would you wait until they grew up? (Ruth 1:12-13a NIV)
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. (Luke 1:36 NIV)
Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they has been married only seven years. (Luke 2:36 NLT)