"Older"

I’m still the boy I used to be,

Still laugh and want to play,

Get silly and go have some fun,

Still prone to waste the day.

I’m still the young man I once was,

With fearless, crazy thoughts,

Ten feet tall and bulletproof,

I haven’t all that lost.

I’m still the full-grown man from when,

I had big dreams and goals,

And energy to get things done,

And often on some rolls.

I’m still the man once in my prime,

When others thought of me,

Someone who had known success,

And someone they could be.

And now the older man I am,

With all these still a part,

But realizing all are me,

And deep within my heart,

God says my life is in His hands,

And as the seasons turn,

Life with all its ups and downs,

It’s grace we’re bound to learn.

Grace to forgive us all our wrongs,

Grace to then make peace,

With all the crops from all the seeds,

And grace to find release,

From everything that held us back,

Or wanted to compete,

With God’s best, His plan for us,

Where grace and our faith meet.

The boy that laughs and wants to play,

The wild one with no fear,

The man who’s driven by a dream,

And the old man sitting here,

Are all as one designed to be,

The tool that God can use,

From now until He says we’re through,

We share the Lord’s Good News.

“Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
  your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” (Psalm 71:18, NLT)

Aging and getting older is an inevitable fact of life, and we seem to do everything in our power to delay its effects on us. But the seasons of life continue to turn, and our bodies change with the years. But the inward person also changes and evolves, hopefully becoming more and more like Jesus. The Psalmist recognized that he still had a testimony to give, and if the Lord strengthened him, he would tell a new generation of younger people about God’s mighty miracles. And throughout our lives, in every season, this is our one and only mission- to show and share the goodness of God. Get on with it.

Art by Kenneth Wyatt, used by permission. Thanks, Kenneth, and God bless you.