NOW!

What is the “ideal age?”

It is obvious that we live in a youth-obsessed society. We see it not only on billboards but also in the workplace and the world of entertainment. Yet in childhood I longed for grown-up status. As a teen, I wanted independence. As a young married, I longed for the wisdom of the aged.

Now retired, on my morning walks, I find myself admiring young moms energetically getting into their SUV’s with their kids. Some are dressed for the office and as they hurriedly strap their kids into position for the ride to school. I imagine their minds are already into the day ahead. What awaits them in the office? What will they fix for dinner—or will it be take-out. Some are at-home moms doling out both love and discipline as they load their kids into the car for the ride to school. Sometimes I find myself thinking they are indeed at the RIGHT age. I guess that is because the years when my children were young were in many ways the most fulfilling of my life.

But I had my worries then, too. I had concern for my aging parents. Always there was a problem presented by one of our children, which seemed beyond my expertise. Finances often limited what we could do for our children. I often felt inadequate to help my husband face issues in the work place. And even though I loved being an in-home Mom, sometimes the young women in TV images or at office socials made me feel less than beautiful or significant. I certainly knew more about home and garden than international affairs.

I remember when one of our children was openly unhappy in a restaurant and I would look at older or younger unencumbered couples at other tables and feel that a peaceful meal must be a wonderful gift. Or sitting in church, I would scan the faces of older women, sure that they had life all figured out.

So, here I am, aware that I have experienced the primary stages of life, with their joys and difficulties. Now as I navigate the struggles of aging, I often find myself looking wistfully backward. But in my better moments I feel what I always knew:

Every stage of life has its unique rewards. At each point, it is important to enjoy the beauty of the NOW. One stage is not better than the other. Our task is to find beauty, meaning and purpose throughout our lives. In our youth we must resist rushing into each new stage without entering into the present joys, and as we get older we must relinquish the past, and as God graces us, lean into the beauties of the NOW with an eye toward our eternal home.