You’re Getting Older — Carol McLeod Ministries

A few years ago, when I went for my annual physical exam, my beloved doctor told me some astounding news.

“Carol,” he began, as he took off his glasses and looked straight into my eyes, “You are getting older.”

I was incredulous! The nerve of this doctor – who I had formerly counted as a friend!

What?! Me?! Growing older?!

Not possible! Definitely not possible!

As I tried to control my quaking heart and disbelieving mind, he continued.

“As you grow older, you will need to change some of your habits. The first change is to make sure that you pick up your feet as you walk. So many older people shuffle their feet rather than picking them up intentionally. If you merely shuffle your feet, you are more likely to lose your balance and to trip over things that normally would not cause you to stumble and fall.”

As my doctor took a deep breath before he continued with his kindness and wisdom, I felt the whisper of the Holy Spirit say to me, “Carol, this is not just about your physical gait, but it is about the way you walk through life as well. I want you to stop shuffling through the mundane and begin to truly live with enthusiasm and joy!”

“I don’t want you to lose your spiritual balance,” the Holy Spirit reminded me. “I don’t want you to trip over offense, lack of purpose or discouragement. I want you to walk intentionally through life!”

After this life-changing experience in my doctor’s office that November afternoon several years ago, I changed the way I lived.

I changed my morning routine.

I changed the things that came out of my mouth.

I changed how I spent my evenings.

I even changed my thought life!

I was determined not to waste one valuable day of the redeemed life I had been given. 

Rather than life happening to me … I started happening to life!

I now live with Biblical intention … a heart filled with gratitude and a mindset of expectation.

I begin each day by declaring, out loud, “This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

I refuse to think contrary and negative thoughts … they are no longer allowed to simmer in this young girl’s brain!

I speak words of encouragement and kindness every single day.

And when I do go for a walk in the glory of creation … there is a smile on my face … a sparkle in my eyes … and a spring in my step.

So … would you allow me to encourage you as you walk bravely into the years that are yet to come?

Would you allow me to remind you that none of us is growing any younger … and so we must be determined not to shuffle through life!

Here are 8 important reminders to help you walk with purpose and hope every day of your life:

1 - Each remarkable day that you live and breathe on planet Earth, you have been commissioned to demonstrate the joy of heaven’s glory in the middle of Earth’s pain. What a glorious assignment you have been given! The astounding miracle accompanying this incredible appointment is that we, as God’s children, have been allowed to carry a stunning characteristic of the Father in our human shells.

2 - I can assure you that even in this space so far removed from the feast of heaven, you were created to embrace joy. You were divinely designed to be the receptacle and the distributor of the joy of the Lord. 

3 - Live in a place of purpose rather than in the swamp of circumstances. Discouragement and frustration will no longer have a hold on your heart as you learn to splash in the goodness of God rather than the temporary of circumstances.

4 - Joy and peace are both components of eternity. And the choices that I make today bring eternity to my life. I can actually experience heaven on earth when I choose to live with Biblical intention. I can experience joy in spite of pain and peace in spite of confusion.

5 - Although we have not been given the oversight to select the day we step from time into eternity, the power to transform time into a life that smacks of eternal delight has been bestowed upon us by our Creator.

6 - You are here today, in this measured space of time, to deliver the character of God and the atmosphere of heaven into a world that seems paralyzed by pain, division, and confusion. 

7 - Today is not a mere twenty-four-hour period; it is the ability to partner with Christ in sculpting a life of eternal significance despite the ticking of a clock, the turning of a calendar page, or the wrinkles that inevitably appear on your skin.

8 – The Bible says that, “In His presence is fullness of joy”. (Psalm 16:11) When I am more aware of God than I am of my pain or disappointment - the joy comes rushing in.