March 16th, 2017

Thoughts about Life

Since March 6, I have been thinking more than usual about life in general and my own life in particular. On that date, I turned seventy-three.
This means I have surpassed my "three score and ten" and am working on my "if by reason of strength, four score" (Psa. 90:10 KJV).
Truthfully, I never thought I would live to be this old. On the Miller side of my family, the men lived well into their eighties and even nineties. On my mother’s side, the Stone side, they did not seem to live as long. I thought perhaps I had more of the Stone genes in me than the Miller genes.
As I’ve thought about my life, I’ve thought about the past. As the Farmers Insurance commercial (slightly amended for my purpose here) says, "I know a thing or two, because I’ve seen a thing or two." We might debate how much I really know, but you get the idea.
I have laughed and cried. I have known success and failure. I have tasted both defeat and victory. I have made some bad decisions and some good ones. I have loved and been loved. I have forgiven and been forgiven. I have witnessed things I never thought possible and been places I never thought I would go. I have had the wonderful privilege of preaching the gospel for more than fifty years. I’ve had a good life.
But, I’ve also thought about the future. To a great degree, it is uncertain. As is often said, "I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." Because of that, I do not face the future with fear and dread.
In fact, I think a lot more about heaven than I used to. Back when I was young, I believed I was invincible and would never die, and I thought little about the hereafter. All that has changed. Not to be melodramatic, but I came to realize that I am one heartbeat away from eternity. In fact, we all are.
So, for me, it is onward and upward.
Finally, as you might have already suspected, I’ve thought about the present. It is really all the time I have. The past is gone, never to be repeated--though I do hope I have learned from it. The future, is uncertain and may never come, and I cannot live it before it gets here. Aah, but the present. It is before me.
I am thankful and comfortable with where I am in the here-and-now. I have a wife whom I love dearly and who loves me. I have a good family and many wonderful friends. I have relatively good health. I am privileged to work with a great group of Christians at the Seymour church of Christ. My life is full.
Thank you for the part that many of you who will read these words have had in making my life what it is.
I remember the past, I anticipate the future, and I embrace the present. How about you?