Aging Gratefully: Make Peace With Aging & MidlifeSample

The pursuit of my earthly goals has led me to some desperate places! The older I get, the more grateful I am that some of my dreams didn’t come true. Culture’s definition of success had too great an influence on my vision board. There are many areas in which I can be thankful that my life hasn’t turned out like I hoped it would.

Jesus didn’t match anyone’s definition of an ideal savior. The Jews were searching for a political leader who would rescue them from Rome’s oppression. I doubt I would have seen it either. I get so focused, looking for things to match my definition of the way they should be, that I likely would have had the same reaction.

We use the expression “mind’s eye” to describe our ability to visualize or imagine something that’s already happened or that we’d like to happen. It’s that part of our brains that allows us to watch bits of our lives as vividly as we watch a Netflix movie. As I read Romans 12:1–2, which instructs us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, I wonder if Jesus also wants to transform what I imagine—if He wants to take my dreams and give them a make-over too.

Midlife offers a unique opportunity to stop and take inventory of where life’s ideals may never match reality. A coaching client recently confessed that she and her best friend realized they’d been chasing the same earthly dreams for forty years. At her fiftieth birthday party, they made a pact to stop the insanity of doing the same things and hoping for different results. They recognized that it was time to refresh their goals and align them more with God’s.

As we’ll read today, Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. My plans for a more ideal life will always fall short of what God has planned for me.

Likewise, God’s definition of joy is far superior to my definition of personal happiness. This earth was never intended to satisfy me. Every pursuit apart from Jesus will disappoint. We hope that happiness, peace, joy, and rest will be found at the end of our strivings, but idols never deliver on their promises.