I am writing this post for all of my friends who are 50+ years old and who occasionally find themselves questioning whether they are running their race well. Who wonder if they got off on an inferior path. Who may be interrogating themselves about the choices they have made. 

I was attacked in the middle of the night by an unholy thought. It went like this,
“You have blown it. You can’t retire.  You will have to work (if you can) until you are 70. If you would have been this or done that you’d be sitting pretty, but now it’s too late. The die is cast.“
A deluge of life regrets were encroaching upon me. I felt I had run the race but not executed a winning game plan.

After several minutes I was able to get my mind out in front of this self-deprecating place.  I began to meditate on ancient immutable wisdom. I changed the paradigm and looked at myself using a different theoretical frame. I came to a different conviction than the one that had troubled me in the middle of the night. My resolution, 

I reject all of the cultural lies and all of the “can’ts” and “shoulds” of  American middle class aging. The truth of the matter is I am on a lifelong call. The Reality is I am on a mission from the Creator of the Universe. This mission has eternal implications. 

So in order to place myself in the redemptive  story of the ages I will by God’s grace  not allow myself to be constrained by conventional wisdom, by messaging from interest groups, by images from the media, or by any other principality or power that would seek to define what it means to be getting older.

While I am aging I will yoke myself to 
running forward toward whatever God-given tasks lie ahead of me,
uncovering abilities that I have let lay dormant,
evolving into the most ethical human being I can be ,
transforming into my best self,
honing the gifts The Maker of All Things has given me,
creating new things with the power the Creator has granted me,
adding new stories to the universe,
fulfilling the call to lift up and serve others,

and if I am knocked down, I will get back up and keep on running. 

Friends, I invite you to join me.