Turning a page

I am fifty today. I’m half way to one hundred. I always intended to have a big party today to celebrate this great achievement. But, frankly it doesn’t feel any different than any other day and I actually have no interest in celebrating. Why? Oh who knows. These days are so strange that, well, it’s hard to think of celebrating over something so arbitrary as a date!

It has caused me to reflect on my life. I’m shocked at how little I have accomplished. I’m dismayed by the mistakes I have made and the people I’ve hurt. My list of sins is pretty long.

Why do we remember the negative things so clearly?

Maybe it’s because the “good” things we do are often cumulative. We get up every day and slog out the house and provide for our families. We work every moment to teach and help our children to grow and learn. There is nothing glamorous in this. And yet, when taken at a distance it can be truly heroic. The bad stuff tends to happen in capsules, moments of time that we can quickly pull out and remember.

So today, I’m determined to continue to show my husband respect. I will continue to try give my children wise council. I hope to find a way to love my neighbour. And most of all I will remember whom I serve.

Colossians 3: 23-24  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working
for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.