Monday, July 13, 2009

Musings of a Middle Aged Man


It's funny what a little thing like a mid-life crisis can do to you.

You start to realize that physically you can't do half the things you used to do, and the things that you still can do tire you out more and the sore muscles stick around a lot longer.
Mentally, you begin to realize that you have a lot more memories than you do dreams. And as the dreams dwindle in scope and splendor, you notice that the memories begin to fade a little as well. Ok, that was a little depressing.
I'm going to be 55 in about a month and I am convinced that I am embroiled in the midst of the granddaddy of all mid-life emergencies. Body wise I have been slowly morphing into the shape of a pear, and an over ripe one at that. My mind is still sharp, it just doesn't communicate with my body as well as it used to. I'm starting to fall down a lot.
I can put up with the sore muscles and the extra notches in my belt. I can even deal with the fact that most of the commercials for baldness prevention, denture cleansers, and hover-round chairs that I use to laugh at, now interest me. ( I'd love to score a hover-round chair, that looks like a blast!)
I realize that if Social Security runs out, it doesn't matter because I'll never be able to retire anyway. I just ordered my blue Wal-Mart vest. It should be here anytime.
I'm trying to fight the onset of old age. I hang around with people younger than me as much as I can. I'm playing some rock again with some of my old band mates. I go to all my son's concerts and drink a few adult beverages with "the boys" I use words like "Dude' and "Sweet", sometimes at very inappropriate times, but I'm learning. I don't wear polyester, or black socks with my shorts, but I am finding that white socks and sandals are age appropriate attire.
I used to do so many things to be in the spotlight. Comedy teams, rock bands, youth leader, etc. Now that spotlight just shows a guy with a bald spot, a big gut and baggy pants yelling "Dude" for no apparent reason.

However, given all these negative aspects of being 55, from a spiritual standpoint, this could be the greatest time of my life. I'm not saying it is. I'm saying it could be, and that it should be. I have more time to spend with God now than I ever have, and I'm mad at myself for not taking advantage of it. I've met more people in the past year that need to hear about Jesus than all the years I spent in youth ministry, and I have talked about Him to very few. I have the opportunity to share what I learned in ministry with other leaders, but I don't .Instead I spend a lot of time being upset with them because they just don't get it.
So what do I do? I have finally decided that I am going to stop looking at this phase in my life as a mid-life crisis and begin to look at it as a mid-life opportunity. I may not have the flair or the energy that I did when I was a younger man, but I can still have an impact. To use a football analogy, I may not be able run the fly pattern anymore, but I can still convert a 3rd and short. The goal is the same, just the methods have changed.

Father God, though I may be tired in body, never let me grow weak in spirit. Help me to realize that I'm not the star of the show, You are. I'm just a stagehand doing his best to help out. Forgive me for blown opportunities, and I beg you for new ones. Help me to use my time wisely, and not waste a moment. Help me to make a second half comeback. I pray that I can still make a difference for you. Show me how. Amen.

Dude! It's like Red Bull for the Soul!!!

2 comments:

Willis Bouwman said...

Good stuff...dude. ;)

Michelle said...

Very cool,...DUDE!!!!! :)