By John Blase
I haven’t been all the way around the block. But I’ve been about halfway. Next year marks my fifty-third on the planet. You see things differently at fifty-three than you did at twenty-two or thirty-seven. That’s simply the way life is. When you’re younger, death is the furthest thing from your mind, as it should be. But when you’re not so young anymore, life’s saddle starts shifting underneath you a little. Again, that’s simply the way life is. But it leaves you stretched between your mortality and the breathless gift of being alive on this good earth.
So how do you then live? I’ll share the best advice I’ve found on this (and I’ve about heard it all). It comes from Frederick Buechner: “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.”
I used to believe those words were just for the young. But now I see them as imperative as we age, because the temptation is to either pretend you’re still nineteen, or become some kind of Eeyore-type character, moping around and waiting for the bitter end to come already. Neither requires faith, much less courage.
Beautiful things will happen, like watching my daughter graduate from high school and then set her sights high toward her future. Terrible things will happen, like a back injury that sidelined me for a year, unable to even do a pushup—an injury I sustained while acting as if I were nineteen.
Beautiful things will happen, like officiating as my parents renewed their vows in a golden wedding anniversary ceremony. Terrible things will happen, like the death of an old classmate taken far too soon, a lady I had a crush on when she was just a girl and I was just a boy. Hearing of her death gutted me with strange heartache.
Beautiful things will happen, like receiving a letter in the mail from a couple I helped years ago with a little premarital counseling, with a message that read, “Your words meant so much to us that we named our son after you. Just wanted you to know!” Terrible things will happen, like losing the joy of my salvation for a season, not knowing why or what to do about it. Beautiful things will happen, like being slowly wooed again by the Savior who has loved me longer than anyone else.
A man’s days are like grass; he blooms like a flower in a field, and then fades with the wind (Psalm 103:15–16). But one day, death will no longer exist; neither will grief, crying, and pain because the old order of things will pass away (Revelation 21:4). This is the deal. This is God’s world. The beautiful and the terrible. This is abundant life.
Don’t be afraid.
Written by John Blase
25 thoughts on "Mortality and Life"
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Nathan says:
His word gives us a way to live. His word is a life. It’s alive and well and we should take part in it and obey everything that’s in it. We should take the Bible literally and not choose and pick what fits our lives, rather, we should allow it to change our lives. If we follow His word that He gave us we will live a righteous holy life and be free and joyful in His presence.
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God let me know you more. Let me know your ways and your word so that I may not sin against you. Let me keep your word close to my heart and write your laws on my heart just as you told Jeremiah you would do. Show me new ways and new things for me to get closer to you. Guide me on the path of life and righteousness and open new doors for me. When those doors open help me to make the right decisions so that I can walk through those open doors. All doors that aren’t meant to be open shut them and lead me to open new doors do your glory. Amen
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God wants us to live morally correct and keep His commandments and to love Him with all of our hearts. He is patient and kind with us and will never leave our side. He knows us more than we know ourselves. He knows every fiber, every thought, every motive of our lives. He wants to know us intimately and we should want to know Him intimately as well. It can get hard doing good, but we shouldn’t grow weary, we should be diligent in His name and obedient and observant to his commands always. He loves us with an everlasting love and nothing can separate us from Him. He is our friend and leads us to greater newer things and don’t be afraid when everything shifts and changes suddenly because God knows what He’s doing and trust Him in all things no matter what happens.
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Mary says:
I am reminded of a quote that says, “The two most important days of your life is the day you were born and the day you know why.” I have found in my 71 years of life that if I focus on my “why,” fears about the changes in life dissipate. God has planned a purpose for me no matter my age. I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” for every season and stage of my life. And that’s good news!
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