Wow! Life passes us by so very quickly. The picture above was taken 30 years ago, almost to the day. I had just arrived in Spokane, Washington, and at 20 years of age, I was the Youth Director at Inland Empire Baptist Temple and the Principal and High School Learning Center Supervisor at Baptist Temple Christian School. Pastor Chester Henry was confident that I could do the job because I had just graduated from BBC and I had taken an entire week of A.C.E. Administrator Training. I was working 14 hour days, seven days a week for the staggering salary of $250 per week. I was 2000 miles from anyone that I knew and a million miles from reality. I survived, not because I was smart or particularly spiritual, but mostly just because I was young. It was a year of my life that God used to teach me a myriad of tough lessons, many that I still draw on almost daily. I also acquired some wonderful memories that still bring a smile after all these years.
When I came across this picture, it made me think about the changes that have taken place in my life over these 30 years. Last November, I turned 50, and I have to admit, it hit me hard. I began pondering Psalm 37:25, where David says, "I have been young, and now am old...." I spent the next six months almost killing myself proving that I wasn't old. I joined a basketball league made up of mostly 20-somethings and held my own for the most part. I played co-ed volleyball and ran a 5k in Colorado. Whenever people would ask me if I jogged, I used to say, "I only run if something big and scary is chasing me." Well, I guess when I looked in the mirror and saw what I considered old age sneaking up behind me, I figured it was time to run.
But lately, God is teaching me that, while youth is a blessing, He has a purpose for every season of our life. While I would love to have the body of that 20 year old again; the strength, the vigor, the quick rate of recovery that youth affords, I would never give up the perspective that these last 30 years have given me. The car in the picture above is a perfect example. It was the first car that I ever bought from a car dealer. It was a 1979 Datsun 310. Very sporty, lots of fun, front wheel drive. I put almost 200,000 miles on that car. But when I bought it I made one very short-sighted decision. The dealership had two almost identical cars, one red and one blue. The blue one was $600 more than the red one, and the only difference was that the blue one had air conditioning and the red one didn't. The salesman said, "Hey, your payments will be cheaper, and besides, you only use the A/C two or three weeks out of the year up here." So I bought the red one. A year later I moved back home and went through four Texas summers without air conditioning. I made a few other poor decisions during that season of my life that I look back on now and wonder what might have happened had I been able to see just a little farther down the road.
What has brought all of this to my mind this morning are the wonderful things that God is doing around our church right now. He is beginning to answer our prayers about bringing more young people to our church family. What a blessing it was to see Brent and Susie Malone and their two boys, Zane and Creed, join with us this past Sunday morning! We have four or five other young couples that are visiting regularly and are praying about becoming a part of our family as well. The vigor and passion for the Lord that we see in these young families is exciting and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in our church this fall. But the key to growth and long-term success in any church is the balance of youthful zeal and the wisdom of the elders. We will have to be especially mindful to work together to see God's blessings on our church to continue.
I am hopeful that this will be possible, because we have several of our older members who still have a youthful passion for the things of God, and I believe that I see a measure of spiritual maturity among many of these young Christians as well.
Oh, and I have concluded that if Chuck Nelson, at over 80 years of age, could climb a ten foot step-ladder on top of a 25 foot scaffold and change a light bulb in our gym, that I have a long way to go before I have to consider myself old.
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