At three years old you can't wait to be big. As a teenager you are still looking forward. Graduates and newlyweds feel their whole life is ahead of them. Careers and kids keep you busy through mid life. Then there comes a time though not altogether true that it seems you have more to look back at than forward to.
Today is my 62nd birthday. I share June 24 with my daughter-in-law. Happy Birthday Emily. As a kid I thought it was the best date ever because it was exactly 6 months opposite December 24, Christmas Eve, the two times I received presents as a kid. I have been incredibly blessed with family, friends, and a career I love.
Generally my goal in our visits is to point upward and outward. I do that this morning by showing you folks how God has and still is working in my life making me who he intends me to be. And just maybe this visit will remind you of things God has done and is doing in your life as well.
To younger self: Jan was the second best gift God gave you after saving you. It's a good thing He arranged you meeting her at a church softball game decades ago because at that time in your life you had very little personality. Continue to cherish her and give her the time and attention she deserves.
To younger self: God had a family, a place, a plan, and a purpose for you when you didn't have a clue what you were doing. Early in your life He brought you relationships and opportunities when you had to go to Farm Service and ask for custom work so you could feed your family. He gave you 6 of the greatest kids and He sent them pretty fast. The little guy in the pic is Mike. He is going to be 41 in a couple of months.
To younger self: I'm using this picture to let you know tears are not a weakness and it's ok to cry. When you left your oldest son in Des Moines at 17 years old that night to go join the Marines you felt like crying but you thought you had to stay strong. By the way today I can get tears just thinking about things. I've cried on the way home from organizational meetings where I was in a leadership role and I thought I failed or I felt alone. I also get tears when I see God's grace do something for me I don't deserve.
To younger self: A big part of who you are today is because God showed you how helpless you were on your own when you thought if you just worked longer and harder you could make things happen. By His grace He did not take the vocation away that you loved but He did show you that there was more to life than farming. He humbled you. He made you dependent on Him. And then He was able to start to make you into what He wanted you to be.
To younger self: God has taught you dependence and reliance. Because you know He is in charge you have become one who is willing to take a risk. God has often blessed those risk in farming and in your giving your kids and now they to their kids responsibilities.
Ethan is healing fast after his accident and arm surgery. He has an equal sized incision on the back of his arm. His two broken bones were fixed with two plates and 13 screws. Jan and I have had the pleasure of him hanging out with us while his parents went to a Farm Bureau responsibility in Maine.
To younger self: God gave you great Christian parents who taught you right from wrong, gave you boundaries, and gave you responsibilities. You are to use those "roots" to produce fruit in your life.
To younger self: God has and is teaching you to not only make time for others but their interest as well. You are to learn to be a good listener. Learn what others appreciate. It might be pulling weeds. It might be quality time. It might be a thank you or thinking of you note or text.
To younger self: Live in the moment. Enjoy each day for what it is. Take advantage of opportunities. If you are given a chance to jump. Jump. You don't know when your next chance might come.
To younger self: Be grateful. For the little things as well as bigger things. Be generous. Be content. Be caring. When you have an idea and others use it as their own, no worries. If you accomplish something and others take credit for it be ok with that. Everything you have and are is God's anyhow.
Matt is a friend and part time helper. He has the incredible ability to figure things out and organize. Matt and Becca and family have had a summer they will not soon forget with job changes and spending time together as a family at Hospice with Matt's mother.
Carol passed away early last week after a five year battle with cancer. Her husband Dean is a friend as well as a mechanic at Van Wall. Countless times he has baled us out of a farm equipment issue. Our sympathies to him, Matt, Doug, and their families. Also to Carol's sisters, brothers, and parents.
What about you: Has God been or still working on you? How many birthdays do we have left? We don't know. Thank God for who He is making you. Include and help others in your life. Otherwise you will feel like this turtle. In a shell. On a rock. In a coffee can. Alone with no way out. Karl and Malaki let this little painted guy out last evening in our pond. God is able and willing to put you where He wants you. As your birthdays continue be observing of Him helping you grow.
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