Strength and Splendor at 38

The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. Proverbs 20:29

Monday, March 5th of 2007, is my 38th birthday. I can not believe I am two years away from the big 4-O. I must admit I have enjoyed my late thirties. You might ask, why? Why in the world would I enjoy getting older? I have enjoyed my late thirties because I still have enough energy to run with the young bucks, and I also have much more wisdom than I did in my twenties.

The color of my hair is a great example of how I feel at age thirty eighty. The majority of my hair is still brown, which represents zeal and strength. However, sprinkled throughout my brown hair are strands of gray. The gray represents splendor and wisdom. So, at 38, I finally have some splendor and wisdom in life to go with my strength and zeal.

Since the age of fifteen, I have tried to keep my body in great shape. Because I work out weekly, I tend to rely on the strength of my physical conditioning to keep me healthy. This means I usually ignore places of pain on my body.

I recently went to visit my doctor to get a physical done on my body. In the past, I had the mindset that physicals were for wimps and old people. As I approach forty, I am trying to rely more on wisdom than strength. So, when the doctor asked me, “Does anything on your body hurt?” This time I did not lie. I told him the truth that I think I have a hernia. Next thing I know, he is testing me for a hernia…cough, cough, cough. Sure enough, he said he could feel a defect on my right side. I did not tell him my right side was where I was feeling the pain, so I knew I was in trouble.

Just a little over two weeks ago, I had hernia surgery to repair a minor defect that had developed on the right side of my body just below my waistline. I am still sore, but recovery is going well. For all who ever dreamed of kicking my butt on the track or in the weight room, now is your opportunity. You better hurry up and get me now, because I am coming back stronger and faster than ever.

One advantage of the wisdom I have gained is that I have a better understanding of who I am and who I am not. In other words, I have a clarity and peace about the the strengths I possess as a person. Having better insight into my strengths has benefitted me in several ways. First, it has helped me focus the majority of my time and energy on what I do best. Second, it has helped me get a handle on who I need around me to compliment my strengths. This is so important, because since I became a Christian, I have had a burning desire to make the most of my time here on earth to the glory of God.

I look forward to seeing you in church this Sunday as we continue in our “Vintage Jesus” series. This Sunday, March 11th, I will be talking about Jesus and his statement, “I AM the Bread of Life and I AM the True Vine.”

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8