Forever Young

This year I will be 33. I remember when I turned 30, it was a year full of reflection and introspection. That year was pivotal for me, as it is for so many others as well, in that I realized God was calling me to a new phase in life. One of the questions I asked God at the time was whether or not I was supposed to be doing this all along and had I missed a turn somewhere in life only to be redirected this way ten years later. His answer was twofold. Yes, this had been His plan for me all along. And no, I was to be doing this in His timing. That timing was not ten years ago nor would it be ten years from now. His timing was now. I thought that was odd as I’ve always been under the impression that a person’s ministry is something they’re called to in High School or College and then you plan your career accordingly. I never expected to actually be doing something in the area of ministry because my career started off differently and took me different places in life. Six years in the Air Force, followed by several years working for government contractors and I just assumed I would be doing that my entire life and that was God’s only plan for me.

As I came to an understanding of what I was to be doing, at least in the present, I encountered some confusion about God’s timing. You see, I qualify as part of a group known as “the emerging generation”. This group consists of adults ages 25-35. Everywhere I turn I see this term and the excitement that surrounds these people as they are poured into and molded into leaders and disciples. Where the confusion came was in the recognition of how long it would take for God to bring about what He was doing in me. What I saw Him doing in and through me would take several years to bring to fruition. I began to question God. “God, are you sure about this? Can you work any faster? I’m going to miss my window.” Wait… what? What window? Did I just tell God that I was unusable for His purposes outside of some worldly definition wrapped up in this term “emerging”?

Where on earth would I get such a ridiculous notion? That really began to irk me as I realized I had been thinking in immature terms as being part of some elite clique or sorority. How’s that for maturing and growing up? But I did succeed in tracking down my destructive train of thought. These thoughts had all flooded in when I faced the reality of turning 33 this year and in an almost panicked urgency felt the need to point out to God that He only had 2 years left to get me where He wanted me. Yikes! How foolish. But I do not think I am alone. There is a particular anticipation that accompanies the approach of an individuals 30’s. And rightly so. It is at this age that certain mental and physiological changes take place that bring a person into the fullness of adulthood. I believe this is the reason God always called people into positions of active ministry at the age of 30. Physically our brains are mature enough to take on the challenge. Sure we can receive a calling or anointing early on in life but the 30’s seemed to be the age of plans put into action. In fact, Jesus was also 30 when he “emerged” and visibly began his outreach and ministry. He was 33 when he died. But that was not the end of his life… nor was it technically the beginning. The Word of the ages who was with God in the beginning may have been physically 33 but it was just an age. The physical death and aging that permeates this world could not hold him and force him to do its bidding. While he may appear to be 33 yet to this day… he is older than all. Is this not the same Christ that lives in me and brings my spirit to life? It stands to reason then that the age of my spirit were one to see it in a physical sense would be 33. When I am 80, the spirit of Christ that is in me will still look 33. What then was I so worried about? Here is where the problem entered.

A few years ago a friend told me about a conference most of her younger ministry friends were invited to. When I asked her if she would be attending she told me that sadly she and her husband were not invited because they were over the 35 yr old age limit. I was shocked. Here they were at the same place in ministry as others, being cultivated and mentored for leadership but because they had initially followed other career paths, they were at a different stage physically than their peers. Yet the overall message was clear, “Sorry, you are too old to be in our clique.” And so a few years later I find myself trapped in the same box only this one I locked myself into. What I had failed to realize is that there are phases in every persons walk with God and as we prepare to enter each new stage we must “emerge” from the old. “Emerging” is about new beginnings.

Over the last two years I have watched my parents go from thinking they would retire soon to becoming reactivated as missionaries. The transformation was more than just employers. There was an actual physical impact I saw in and through them. The realization that God was not finished with them had a distinct rejuvenating effect on them. At one point I looked at my mother when she laughed and saw decades melt away. She was once again 30 something, filled with anticipation and hope as she prepared to transition to life in Brazil. I learned something new that day about what it meant to be “emerging”. I watched my mother “emerge” from a shell of resigned ending to a life of new beginnings. My mother and father, now in their 60’s were the definition of “emerging leaders”.

This year I have also watched my sister and brother-in-law, after 20+ years of service to their country as Navy Chaplains approach a new phase in life as they prepare to become civilians and begin pastoring. I saw the transformation happen in them as well. They went from a mental state of military retirement to one of new beginnings. I watched them “emerge” from their past careers into the dawning of a new day and new career.

And so today as I sit here and write, I am rejuvenated and encouraged as I realize that whatever age or phase of life you are in, it is always God’s plan that just around the corner is a brand new opportunity for you to “emerge”. My tasks right now may consist of caring for my house and feeding my children but the day will come when I will “emerge” to care for His house and feed His children. To confine the term of “emerging leaders” to a physical age group is just plain immature and elitist. Feel free to gore me for my views but if it is the task of the elderly to pour into the young then perhaps we should be asking in what manner we can reciprocate. I encourage you today, if you feel that you are past the age of usefulness to God and to His people, then snap out of it! You are destined to emerge! It is the nature of Christ and it is now your nature. God calls to us, “Come out, my people”. Emerge, live, and help others to live.