A question for me—and for you—as I celebrate a milestone birthday
By Alan Ahlgrim*
75 and still advancing!
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were? While swimming laps the other day, I was once again pondering that question. I’m definitely feeling a little older these days; however, I don’t really feel like I’m actually 75.
Someone just asked me, “So what does it feel like to be75?” Since I’ve never been this old, I wasn’t really sure what to say, though sometimes when I look in the mirror I wonder what my dad is doing there! Since he’s enjoying Heaven, I wonder why in the world he is making a field trip to visit me. We’ll be seeing each other soon enough on the other side of eternity.
Photo by Nikhita Singhal at Unsplash
I’ve seen this bit of humor several times but don’t know who to credit. It goes like this, “After examining his patient, the doctor told him, ‘I have some bad news for you, and some really bad news.’ Shocked, the patient asked, ‘What’s the bad news?’ The doctor said, ‘You have 24 hours to live.’ The patient said, ‘Well, I guess it can’t get any worse, so what’s the really bad news?’ The doctor replied, ‘The really bad news is that I should have called you yesterday.”
I just checked and discovered that the average life expectancy for American men is 76.3 years. According to that, I might not have much time left. Then again, I might not even have a full 15 months. That’s why I plan to live life to the fullest until I begin the life that will expand throughout all eternal ages.
Here’s the prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr, that I make my own every morning.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.”
I’m enjoying this season of life immensely. I just told a good buddy that I don’t have any sense that my time on earth is drawing to a close. To the contrary, I feel like it is still opening and unfolding before me. Even at 75, opportunities for speaking, mentoring, and connecting continue to come my way. It reminds me of what we read about Abraham continuing to follow the prompt of God even at this same age. “So Abram went, as the Lord told him … he was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran” (Genesis 12:2).
Even at his advancing age, Abraham was still advancing! That’s what I want to do, don’t you? Who knows, this could be the last thing I ever write or that you ever read. Then again, I could still have a couple decades left. A strong business leader of about my age thought he might have another 25 years left to live, and observed that 25 years is an awesome responsibility! I may not have that long, but even if it’s just a decade or so of reasonable energy, I want to make the most of it. We should never underestimate the importance of whatever time we have left.
My passion is to finish well and to finish strong. In the prayer of Moses recorded in Psalm 90:10, he says, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” I like to say that I am now in my “extra strength” years; that is, I’m fulfilled but I’m not yet finished, and I’m not alone. Believe it or not, I know a few dynamic guys who are even older than I am, and they never cease to inspire me! They don’t fear the future, they are embracing it.
The future is nothing to fear. God is already there, waiting for you and me to arrive. As C.S. Lewis once said, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
I hope you join me in enjoying many happy birthdays until the ultimate party finally begins, the one that will never end!
*After 50 years in located ministry, Alan Ahlgrim retired from his role as founding pastor of Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Colorado and now serves as the Chief SoulCare Officer of Covenant Connections for Pastors. Alan invests heavily in the hard work of heart work, helping other leaders serve well and finish well by connecting them in soul-enriching covenant groups. He does most of his work in Colorado while catalyzing a national network of soul-care groups meeting in various locations. Each group meets together over three years and is led by a trained facilitator. For more information visit: www.covenantconnections.life
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