Recently Darren decided to have some fun and kick off “blogger idol”! As a person who loves writing, I thought I’d have a go at blogging to a set theme. This is no. 1.
I won’t guarantee I’ll still be there at the end of it all – or that I will post on every topic – but here goes anyway…
This is the year I turn 40.
It feels kinda like I’m at ‘half time’ in life.
I reckon ‘the 80’s’ could be getting close to the end of the road for me so I thought I’d use this post to reflect on some of my dreams for when I hit the 80’s.
I dream that I will”
• Still be married to Danelle and that our love will be stronger and deeper for 50 years of marriage. It seems that love changes over time – I feel different love today than I did when we were on our honeymoon – but I dream that the 80’s love will be something special and profound and richer and more fun than it is today. I reckon it’s possible to stay together for 50 years and have nothing more than an appreciation of each other and a healthy housekeeping relationship. No thanks! (I also dream I will still have a sex life”)
• Have left my kids a legacy that encourages them to live life to the full and to find that fullness in connection with God. I dream that they will have seen a passion for Jesus in their old man that inspires them and draws them to him, rather than a dreary religious ethic that leaves them cold and indifferent. I dream that at 80 we will be able to talk openly and regularly about how good God is and the way he keeps transforming our lives.
• On that thought, I dream that in the 80’s I will still be learning and changing and becoming more like Jesus. I dream that I will hear God more clearly and often and that I will trust him more as he leads me. I am so inspired by the 80 year olds I have known who are on the growing edge, who haven’t lost the willingness to change – but I am dismayed by cynical, hardened older people who live out of self centredness and indifference.
• Be the old guy in church who is always encouraging the young ones to have a go at new things! I dream that I will be an advocate for the young 50 year old pastor who can’t seem to ‘move the church’ because people won’t change. I’ve been inspired by those older folks who don’t understand what I’m on about but who can feel my heart and support anyway. I dream I will never morph into a grumpy old bugger who wants things done the way I like them. Ecch!
• That I will have a fertile mind and an adventurous spirit. I don’t want to settle down, play it safe, learn lawn bowls, buy a caravan and trip around Australia. Now there’s nothing wrong with a good holiday and a bit of sport (if you can call lawn bowls sport!), but I dread the idea of retiring from life when (if) I retire. In my 80’s I dream that my capacity for risk taking and faith stretching will have increased rather than shrunk. I dream that God will still trust me with his thoughts and ideas and that I will be looking for the next challenge – not the comfortable chair in the corner away from the action.
As I write this short spiel I sense there is much more that I dream – more than I could or should write here, but perhaps its is best summed up in the quote from Helen Keller that is on the signature of all my emails
“Life is a daring adventure or nothing”