Happy Birthday!

Another birthday! Yes, in view of the upcoming event I opted to not play basketball and watched the Rams get beat by the Bears, which turned out to be another analogy on aging, in itself. And, no, I don’t play as well as I did in my younger years and I do hurt more the next day! But I try, for it is fun to be referred to as the old man as the young bucks argue over who will have the easy job of guarding me! But I have grown wiser, and while they work so hard to win, I have nurtured higher priorities, like getting my wind after each trip down the floor! I think that is why they look at me and laugh when they announce, “Oh good, we have enough to play full court!” All I know is that my nagging Achilles and screaming knee keeps me from laughing with them.

But birthdays are fun, and with them come a certain sense of wisdom….

Wisdom to know that “old” seems to start a lot later in life than it used to…
Wisdom to know that what you eat is not as much fun when you think about your age and weight….
Wisdom to know that with age you eventually realize your arms aren’t long enough …
Wisdom to know you hurt more, get injured more, and heal slower…
Wisdom to know that when you sneeze and hear, “Bless you,” you might need it…
Wisdom to know that the youth group thinks you’re old, and you begin to understand why…
Wisdom to know that more of what you know that makes sense is what you have experienced, and what you don’t know is also more of what you have experienced…
Wisdom to know that friends and family are worth the time, and the time is worth making…
Wisdom to know that grace is not earned, and you appreciate that even more…
Wisdom to know that those who are ahead of you are wiser than you thought and deserve to hear it from you…
Wisdom to know that more your age have passed…
Wisdom to know that you are running out of time to accomplish…
Wisdom to know that you are living for a time beyond time…

But today, I started with riding my bicycle, up hill, both ways, against the wind, at least it seems that way at 51. Happy Birthday!

David Bearden