Appreciating God for as Long as You Live

I may be a little too sensitive about this, but I don’t like people making assumptions about me based on my perceived age. I’ve experienced others’ faulty perceptions about me because of how old I look, even beyond the fact that clerks no longer ask if I qualify for a senior discount; they just give it to me, no questions asked. So much for covering the gray hairs making all the difference. My six-year-old grandson revealed the raw truth, though. He was teasingly evaluating my eligibility to be his someday wife, blithely ignoring the fact that I’m already married and a blood relative. Then he pronounced me “too wrinkly.” (He may or may not still be in the will.)

Okay, so I’m no spring chicken. But this event illustrates just how sensitive I can be: A young dental hygienist noticed I’d left a man waiting for me in the lobby and said, “Did your husband bring you today?” Okay, maybe she didn’t really think I needed to be brought. Maybe she was only curious to know if the man out there and I were in a spousal relationship. Maybe I looked especially decrepit that day, so perhaps she was concerned that I might have dangerously driven myself had it not been for the availability of a qualified escort (who, by the way, is older than me, but, phooey—men seem to age more gracefully).

Rather than failing to ignore perceived slights when it comes to my age, though, I’d be better off embracing this blessing: God has had years to grow my faith.

Recognizing God’s Faithfulness

It’s one thing to read about God’s faithfulness to people in the Bible and about his promise of faithfulness to us; it’s another to recognize his faithfulness in our own lives and in the lives of others. Our personal experience confirms that his promises are real, again and again. Anyone of any age can value his faithfulness, but when we experience it over many decades and (even well after the fact) learn to recognize that faithfulness, we are blessed with a deeply rooted faith.

I’ve grown by recognizing that “all [God’s] work is done in faithfulness” (Psalm 33:4 ESV).

Experiencing God’s Comfort

The longer we live, the more we personally experience the truth of Jesus’s words when he said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33 NIV). I haven’t experienced the trials and heartbreaks many people have, but I’ve experienced hurt and confusion at others’ insensitive actions. I’ve faced my own cancer and the sudden, tragic death of a friend. I’ve watched people I love and care about suffer through loss and pain and felt a sense of loss and pain for them. I’ve witnessed elderly members of our family decline into physical if not mental helplessness. I’ve felt shame and regret for mistakes I’ve made and sins I’ve committed. But in each difficult experience, even if it took me a while to open myself to it, I’ve also experienced the comfort only God can give.

I’ve grown by experiencing how God “will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:5 ESV).

Embracing God’s Joy

“This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve,” Nehemiah told the people (Nehemiah 8:10 NIV). They’d started weeping when the Book of the Law of God was at last made clear to them. But then the prophet told them, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (8:10 NIV). I think they were just overwhelmed, and I hope everyone took the prophet’s encouragement to heart. But I’ve been around some glum Christians who assumed taking their faith seriously meant a pinched face and squeezing all joy of their lives lest they not live up to some standard they’d been taught. Some of them were quick to judge and slow to thaw—but I think they were also likely afraid. I, too, have experienced a kind of fear the Lord never intended, the kind that paralyzes you because you think it’s all about what you do, not about what he does. But the longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve realized that inviting the joy of the Lord into our lives gives us strength, in part because it leads us away from false piety, judgmentalism, gloomy faces, and all the wrong ideas people get about God. Joy makes room for joy.

I’ve grown by embracing God’s “strength and joy” (1 Chronicles 16:27 ESV).

Grasping God’s Majesty

Maybe I’m just a slow learner, but it’s taken me a long time to fully appreciate God’s majesty, and I’m still working on it. I’m rather practical, my emotions are usually in check, and I can be self-absorbed. Does it help to know I’m a Myers-Briggs ISTJ? But as some of the intensity of life has fallen away (empty nest; leaving a job for my current, calmer career waters; downsizing in abode), I find myself paying more attention to God’s creation. Last spring my husband and I went on a dream trip to Alaska. As our cruise ship sailed into places like Glacier Bay, and we toured part of Washington and Oregon by car and ferry, how could I not pay attention? Here in Central Indiana we have nary a hill, let alone a mountain or glacier. But when I came home, I saw anew the beauty of the fields surrounding our community; the rich red of the cardinal, our state bird; the rivers and brooks and creeks; the sunsets.

I’ve grown by grasping God’s “splendor and majesty” (1 Chronicles 16:27 ESV).

Whether you’ve lived among his many blessings for two decades, ten decades, or somewhere in between, seek to grow your faith through the Lord’s faithfulness, comfort, joy, and majesty—day by day, for as long as you live. Even if you’re well along this road, like I am, it’s never too late. God is waiting for your attention, and he’ll see you through every opportunity.

Jean Kavich Bloom is a champion coffee drinker and a freelance editor and writer for Christian publishers and ministries. She doesn’t garden, bake, or knit, but insists playing Scrabble is exactly the same thing. Jean and her husband, Cal, live in central Indiana. They have three children (plus two who married in) and five grandchildren. She blogs at bloominwordstoo.blogspot.com.

Photograph © Raw Pixel, used with permission