I am old; but blessed

The only thing worse than waking up 45 minutes later than you needed to is to realize that the reason you didn’t wake up early is because you forgot the appointment entirely. I hate missing meetings, commitments, or appointments. And I hate worse when I miss because I forget. They say the mind is the first to go. That, for me, is completely true because my mind was going before anything else even started packing. 

            Isn’t age funny though? I mean, really, when you think about it, it’s hilarious. I will be 41 years old this year. And watch this. When some of you read that you thought, “Oh, he’s just a kid.” Some of you thought, “Wow, dude is old!” and yet even others thought, “This guy is just about at his peak age”. Ok, I was the only one that thought the latter to be true. But now, is this not the case?

            I remember when all the professional athletes were older than me. I remember when all the teachers were my age. I remember not saying, “I remember when…” Funny, huh?

            Everything hurts when you wake up and if it doesn’t hurt then it probably don’t work. The smile lines don’t go away when you stop smiling. There is no denial. Ponce de Leon didn’t find the fountain of youth and neither will we. Oh, but how we try! Barbells will get pumped. Black hair gone gray goes black again, or better yet, BLOND. The face gets stretched, the chin gets a tuck, and breasts get a lift.

            I saw something good on the TV this morning, AS I WAS WALKING ON THE TREADMILL AT THE GYM (this story just keeps getting better doesn’t it?)! I rarely watch anything other than sports or NCIS on TV but this morning the news was on and I was too lazy to get off the treadmill and change it, hahahah! They were talking about how to live longer and they had studied several places in the world where people lived longer than anywhere else on the planet. And in the study, it was determined that one of the components that were shared in all of the places around the world was happiness.

            What? Yes, happiness. Now, I’m not sure if they were happy because lived long or if they lived long because they were happy but that was one of the common denominators of the study. And get this! None of the people has special potions, pills, or products. Nope. And none of them were on fad diets. And none of them went to the “gym” everyday. And none of them really seem to know that they were unique. They thought their life of hard work, community, living off the land, and being genuinely happy was normal.

            I’m not sure but you think the Apostle Paul had this same insight when he wrote in Philippians 4:8; “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

            Are things dishonest at your job? Think on what is honest. Are people cutting corners and asking you to do the same? Fix your mind on those things that are right and honorable. Has life just kicked your tail and you’re not sure if you want to answer the bell for the next round? I have a message for you…

            Before I give you the message you have to answer a few personal questions. What kind of life do you want? What kind of life do you have? What are YOU doing to change it? It is really up to you in the end.

            Here is the ending and the message all at once. You are blessed! You are one of the few people in the world with access to the technology to have internet. You are one of the few people in the world that is educated enough to read. And if you can’t read then you are blessed enough to have a friend that would read this to you. If you have a mom and dad that loves you, you are blessed double. If you have a brother or sister that loves you then you are blessed. If you have a spouse, children, or friends that love you then you are blessed. But here is the kicker. Who do you love? Because to me the greatest blessing that I could have is to be a blessing. If you love someone they are blessed.

            And when we bless people we become happier because we see what this thing called life is all about. In times when the world is dark, what really matters is what you look for. No more plush; just priorities. And what really matters to you?

Pastor Dad

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