There's no such thing as "over the hill," I tell my friend Diana in a comment I wrote earlier this week. We're all on the same journey toward home. There's no turning back, just moving forward. Some of us are closer to home than others, but wherever we are, all any of us have is today.
Last week I attended the funeral of a woman, who, if she had lived just one more month, would be celebrating her 101st birthday this weekend. I never saw her go over a hill. I never witnessed a moment when her life became less vibrant or significant. If anything, she grew more lovely, more treasured, and more full of grace.
I wish I'd embraced my age long ago. Rather than being coy about it, I should have announced my 40th, 50th or 60th birthday with joy and gratitude for God's faithfulness over the years and for the grace He gives - one day at a time.
I wish I'd been less peer-group-focused and valued the council of the women I knew who were further down this sinuous path and whose wisdom could help me navigate where they've already traveled.
My declaration to act my age isn't a resignation, but a thanksgiving that the LORD has allowed me to become a woman of a certain age. There will be just as much to rejoice and celebrate at my 90th birthday {should the LORD leave me here that long} as there was at my first.
To my dear girlfriends from 18 to 100: let go of those ties to the years past and those fabled hills that try to make you feel old, with gratitude embrace each day and year God gives, and hold onto {treasure} the girlfriends of every age that He brings into your life.
Love well, listen attentively, learn from those who walk around you and pick up those who stumble. Lets live this one life well together.
So tell me, if you will...how many years has the LORD given you?
{Photos - more Pollywog Creek backyard and around the pond this week}
{Photos - more Pollywog Creek backyard and around the pond this week}
