Thoughts on getting older and enjoying it.

There are certain landmarks in ones life that proves the inevitable progression of time; a.k.a. getting old. I'm getting old.

I'm now one month from turning 27, and while there are many people who would roll their eyes and mumble something about wishing they were that young again, it feels old to me.

I went to a high school friend's wedding on Saturday and was able to spend some time with a few friends from that era. First of all, next year will mark the 10 year anniversary of my high school graduation. TEN YEARS. That's a decade people.

A family I know from high school was at this wedding. The oldest of four sons is my age. The youngest is now a sophomore in college. The last time I saw him he was 9, a round-faced chunk of cuteness. I saw him and could only stare, unable to believe that little Bobby was in this football players body. I could barely believe when those dreaded words came to my mind and I fought as they came out of my mouth, "I can't believe how old you've gotten; last time I saw you, you were 'this' big!" And he stared at me like I used to stare at the "old" friends of my parents who used to say that to me: smiling politely with not a clue in the world as to who they were. Yup, he had no clue who I was.

I love where I am in life. I'm relishing being a part of the, "young marrieds without children" group, and looking forward to what the future holds. I definitely would NOT want to go back to any stage of my younger days...one time through is enough. But there is something eye-opening about realizing the passing of time, and it forces me to choose how I will view my stage of life. It's the people who are bitter about getting old that make me sad. Another year passed is another gift of spending time on this earth and another year closer to eternity in Paradise.

A friend gave me this statue a while back that helps me keep these ideas in perspective. The name of the idea is Sankofa from a West African people group.