I’m finding the older I get, the years are seemly passing much faster than they once did. I remember a long time back inviting my dad over for dinner one evening; Mom had gone on to her reward in heaven and he was alone. While my wife prepared the table, he and I sat on the couch enjoying each other’s company.
At one point in our visit I noticed that he was looking off into the distance with a blank stare; lost in thought. He began to chuckle to himself under his breath, shaking his head from side to side. “What’s up Dad?” I asked. He answered, “It seems like only yesterday that I was in school, and now I’m seventy-three years old. Where did the time go?”
He then said something that stuck with me through the years that is becoming a reality in my life today. He said, “You’ll find the older you get the faster the years go.” I didn’t comprehend the depth of its meaning until now. I was in my thirties, working very hard to put my two sons and daughter through Christian school, clothes on their back, and braces on their teeth—making ends meet, with many years ahead of me, not worrying too much about the passing of time.
I am now in my golden years with an empty nest and grandchildren that call me Papa on their frequent visits to Nana and Papa’s house. I understand what my dad was saying when I look into their little faces and realize how fast they are growing.
I especially identify with Dad when I pillow my head at night and the same question keeps coming to me, “Didn’t I just do this?” Before I can blink twice, another week has passed and the weekend that I was looking forward to is already here.
The days come and go so quickly that it is hard to grasp that my three children are now in their thirties; pushing forty. My wife and I couldn’t wait until we had the house to ourselves—that day is here. Tomorrow has become yesterday and today has gotten lost somewhere between tomorrow and yesterday.
I look into the mirror and see my dad staring back at me—balding head and gray temples. A closer look reveals wrinkles that were caused by the sun from many years working out-of-doors. Muscles have seen better days, once toned and strong.
I am following quickly in my father’s footsteps as he did in his father’s before him and my great, great grandfather’s footsteps before him. It is the cycle of life. One day sooner than later my boys, too, will see their dad staring back at them in the mirror. Life is just this way.
So what do we do on life’s fast track to tomorrow? We must live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself. Don’t look at yesterday as being wasted and unproductive, because we can learn through yesterday’s mistakes and not repeat the same ones today.
We should strive to make today meaningful; giving a smile or sharing a kind word with someone. When today becomes yesterday we will feel more like meeting tomorrow with new zeal and less regrets, because yesterday’s memories are good ones.
We cannot stop the process of aging, but we can age gracefully when we know that we did everything we could to make today count for something. The peace of God can be ours when we refuse to worry and fret, because we are getting older.
When I was turning fifty and complaining to one of my friends about becoming another year older, I’ll never forget his words. He said, “When you consider the alternative of having another birthday, it’s not so bad growing old.”
My mind immediately weighed the pros and cons of his statement…enjoying another year or six feet under; I decided quickly I’ll take an additional year and be happy about it. I stopped complaining from that moment on.
The popular song, “Yesterday” by the Beatles, and “Yesterdays Gone” by Chad
(Hebrews 13:8), “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Written by,
Papa Boyd
No comments:
Post a Comment