By Doug Creamer
Another Year
I received a text from a friend this week congratulating me on another safe trip around the sun. He was wishing me a happy birthday. I enjoy having birthdays until we get to the year when I have to put a zero at the end of my age. I don’t like changing decades. Thankfully, this was a non-decade changing birthday.
Age is just a number. It’s more important how you feel and how well your body is holding up. The reality is that as we add years there are some side effects. One of the things I’ve noticed is that I need to sit down and rest a little more often while working in the yard.
I still feel young when I am teaching at school. My students think of me as “older,” and compared to some of them, I guess I am. I think the prime of life seems to be the twenties, thirties, and forties. I am also discovering why we need to retire. It takes longer to do certain tasks so we need to retire to allow more time to get things done.
When I mention any of this to my parents, who are both in their 90’s, they tell me that things change considerably after you cross the 90 mark. While my parents both have good days and bad days, I think they are doing well for their age.
I qualify for a senior discount but I haven’t asked for it yet. I have received the discount at Harris Teeter a couple of times and I have to admit that I liked it. It is a small savings so I am not sure what I would do with it. I guess I need to start taking advantage of the opportunities this white hair on my head has earned for me.
There is one other thing I have noticed about being older. Time seems to be moving more quickly. It seems like we just finished putting Christmas away and here we are at Easter. We’ll blink and be at the Fourth of July. Then fall breezes will begin to blow. Once fall arrives, we will be back in the holiday season. We need to slow time down! I need to get my garden planted. I am dreaming of my first tomatoes.
I realize we can’t slow time down. We can only choose to live in the moment and enjoy the time God has given us. Easter is here! My wife and I both love spring, watching Mother Nature come alive and seeing the beauty blossom in front of us. There are streets lined with dogwoods that I will purposely drive down to enjoy their beauty. The azaleas have been beautiful this year. I love and appreciate spring’s beauty.
It seems appropriate that Easter falls in spring. Jesus died on Good Friday and then rose from the grave on Easter morning. Earth’s awakening each spring should remind us of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus paid the price for all of our sins. We are forgiven and we can now have a relationship with God the Father because Jesus paid for all our debts.
I taught children’s church last Sunday and one of the kids mentioned that Jesus went to heaven when He died. I told the kids that Jesus didn’t go straight to heaven but that He actually went to hell. They looked at me in shock. I told them that He had to go down there to let Satan and all the demons know that He had fulfilled God’s plan and redeemed mankind. He took back the keys of life and death and set the captives free.
I thought about that interaction with the children. Jesus paid the price for all my sin through His shed blood. Jesus paid for my healing through His broken body. Jesus has opened the prison doors to all who find themselves trapped by depression, anxiety, and/or addiction. Jesus set the captives free. Jesus restored the broken relationship between God and mankind. Jesus gave each one of us access to grace, mercy, forgiveness, peace, joy, and God’s unconditional love.
I want to encourage you to open your heart to God this Easter. He offers you life and hope in exchange for your brokenness. The gift of Easter is a restored relationship with your Heavenly Father. Whatever age or stage of life you find yourself walking in today, God wants to be a part of your life. He opened the door and paid the price for you. All you have to do is receive this precious gift, which leads to eternal life with God in heaven.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com