Don't Die Before You're Dead
Contrary to what Hollywood and People magazine have tried to tell you … You are NOT too old!
I don’t care what your age is ... you are NOT over the hill!
As a matter of fact … there is NO hill!
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.” – James A. Garfield
When I was in my teens and twenties … someone more famous than I and yet delusional came up with this ridiculous phrase … “Don’t trust anyone over 30!”
Honestly … I have always believed that people over 30 are actually the BEST people to trust!
So … if like me … you are over 30 years old … today’s blog is precisely for you.
If you are nearing 30 years old … keep reading.
If your goal in life is to reach 30 years old … absorb every single word I have to say to you today.
And what is it that I would like to say to you?
If you are still breathing ... then keep right on living!
Let me say it another way … Don’t die before you are dead.
"You can't help getting older ... but you don't have to get old." - George Burns
Every football player knows you can turn the game around in the fourth quarter. It pays to finish your fourth quarter strong.
It is possible to overcome a slow start with a strong finish ... keep living ... and believing ... and dreaming ... and achieving ... until there is no time left on the clock.
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
Let me give you some brilliant and impressive examples …
Roget created the first Thesaurus at age 73.
John Glenn went into space at age 77.
Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 65.
Grandma Moses started painting at age 76.
Bruce Arians coached his team to win the Super Bowl at age 68.
Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa at age 75.
Corrie ten Boom was 54 years old when she started "tramping for the Lord".
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
Have you had enough yet? Well … I’m not quite done …
Noah Webster completed the American Dictionary at age 70.
Christopher Plummer earned an Oscar at age 82.
Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence at age 70.
Barbara Hillary set foot on the North Pole at age 75.
Ronald Reagan entered politics at age 55 and became president at age 69.
Mother Theresa received a Nobel Peace Prize at age 69.
“Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” – Walt Disney
Are you motivated yet? The best is yet to come …
Moses was 80 years old when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The apostle John was likely in his 90’s when he wrote the book of Revelation.
Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born.
Elizabeth was in her late 80’s when she gave birth to John the Baptist.
Caleb was 80 years old when he asked the Lord to give him another mountain.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1
I have always loved the following words spoken by General Douglas MacArthur.
(Now listen … I know that it is a long quote … but I promise you that it is worth the read … especially if you are over 30 …)
“Youth is not entirely a time of life . . . it is a state of mind. It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips or supple knees . . . it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life.
Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest, wrinkles the soul.
Whatever your years, there is in every being’s heart the love of wonder, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what is next, and the joy and the game of life.
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair."
The Bible says it like this ...
"The end of a matter is better than its beginning." - Ecclesiastes 7:8
You're not too old ... so don't throw in the towel!
As long as there is breath in your lungs ... God has a purpose for you.
Do you believe it? I can’t believe it for you … you must believe it for yourself.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
How old are you? Do you have any new goals? Have you dreamed a new dream lately? I’d love to know!
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart, but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!