God's Good Work

Last Friday I celebrated my 40th birthday as Mrs. Stephen Doe on the eve of a new phase of life as he leaves the pastorate behind and he becomes our presbytery's regional home missionary. Our focus will no longer be  the group of believers at this one church but instead all believers who are at every stage of examining the possibility of starting another church in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He will not be preaching on a regular basis. Instead of having oversight from a session, the oversight will come from the home missions committee. He will be on the road a lot and there will be many times we will have to decide whether I need to be with my grandchildren or whether the best place for me will be by his side. I expect I'll do some editing of newsletters, perhaps some informal counseling of women, as well as reading through a lot of books as we are on the road. Reading out loud marked our months of dating, our early married life, and the years of childraising. I expect we will talk our way through all kinds of subjects we never had time to talk through before.

I thought this would be a good time to share a few simple observations about aging. Hopefully some of this will be helpful to those looking ahead to my age. We should remember to pray for each other. God is a faithful teacher as I go through so many lessons in life. So often what I need to hear from my sisters in Christ is not new and wonderful truths, but the wonderful old truths that I too often put on the shelf when I need them the most.
 1) Appreciate the body God has given you at whatever age you are. Whenever I consider the expression I'm past my prime, I know that's true. With humor tinged with sadness, I wonder when was the prime that I left behind? When was I at the height of looking good and being healthy? Wasn't there some way that I could have appreciated what I had at the same time having God honoring goals as to where I wanted be? I have so many memories of  unhappiness with my diet and my exercise routine or lack of it. I would cringe when I'd catch sight of my reflection in a store window or my image from a store security camera. My memories are fewer of rejoicing in long strides as I walked with my family or in mastering an exercise routine for a class.

2) Rest in the character of God. This is the only way to have the right attitude towards the effects of diet, exercise, and aging on our bodies. Resting in his character is the only way any of us can handle well the ups and downs of our lives. As we age we tend to be consumed with so many regrets. Regrets can span a wide range of topics. "If only I had taken better care of my body." "If only I had taken a different job." "If only I had spent more time with my children" "If  only I had worked on my marriage more." The list could go on and on. If I remember that God is omnipresent and that He was with me when I made the wrong choices as well as the right ones, I will also remember the wisdom of God as He takes all those choices and uses them for His glory and my good. God is also with me in the present just as He was with me in the past. Are there relationships in my past that I neglected ? God promises to grant me His wisdom and love to deal well with these people now as I look to Him for guidance. God is a faithful, loving heavenly father. If you are His child He will continue to perfect the good work he began in you whether you are 18, 48 or 78.

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.                               Philipians 1:6 (ESV)

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