Life begins at 50

The mundane can take on a magical beauty when God is in it.

I love being 50. But I have decided I'm a slow learner, very methodical, things take time to really soak in. When I was ready to hit the "big 4-0" people (well, at least one person multiple times) would tell me that it's "all downhill". Apparently, once you hit 40 things start falling apart, the mind grows dim, the body develops aches and pains and begins to break down in all kinds of ways.

Be that as it may, and I'm not sure I agree with that, I LOVE being 50. That's probably because it took me 40 years to grow up. (Well, "grow up" is a relative term after all.) Until I turned 40, life just went along pretty much as planned. There were few mysteries or surprises. I knew about God, I wanted to know Him better, but it seemed mostly one-sided to me. God was pretty silent. Maybe because I was trying to get Him to follow me on the path I was choosing, maybe because I hadn't learned how to listen at all.

But sometime after 40 I guess God figured there was enough foundation to start messing with me without me totally falling apart. Sometime around 40 I told Him that I'd done a pretty poor job running my life, and He was welcome to step in and take over any time, and I meant it. And for the past 10 years He's been doing just that.

He teaches me over and over (and over...and over....and...) to let go. That is such a difficult thing to do. Often He has to bring me to the point where I have no other choice. But that is when the most incredible things happen.

So why do I love being 50? It's because I can now look back and see so many amazing things that God has done. Miracles! Not just in my life, but in the lives of those around me.

Can you relate?