Today I turned 45. According to the 2009 CIA World Factbook the average life expectancy of a US male at birth is 75.65 years. This means that if the stats are right, I’m more than 1/2 way done with my life. In fact, I crossed the 1/2 way mark 8 years ago. I think of myself as middle aged, but as my brother-in-law said to his mother, “unless you plan on living to 130, you’re past middle age.”
The last 45 years have been an adventure. I have an incredible wife with whom I have shared 17 years, 2 great kids and a life full of some wonderful, and not so wonderful, experiences. I have travelled around the world doing what I love and have had some pretty interesting jobs. I’ve served as the Master of Ceremonies for the Mrs. Tennessee USA pageant, played the greatest hits as a country DJ, delivered “mud” to oil derricks in Oklahoma and unloaded manure in the garden center of Wal-Mart, just to name a few.
Though I would always choose the good, I’m starting to learn that all of life is a gift, the good and the bad. I can’t always control my circumstances, but I can choose how I respond to those circumstances. I can either see them as a means of grace to be embraced or a curse to be blamed. But as the weeks quickly turn into years, the thing I value the most are the relationships. I’ve certainly not always been the best friend, but the older I get the more these relationships mean to me and the more I treasure them.
So what am I going to do with the rest of my life?
I hope to:
- be a better husband
- be a more patient father
- be a caring son
- be a listening brother
- be an ardent friend
- be a conscientious employee
- be a faithful believer
I can’t believe how quickly 45 years has passed. If the stats are right I only have 30.65 years left. May God grant me the strength and courage to live them well.
