Category: Life in Our Family

PDL 2 – “I am not an accident”

“I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isaiah 44:2 CEV

“Since the day you were born, I have carried you along. I will still be the same when you are old and gray, and I will take care of you. I created you. I will carry you and always keep you safe.” Isaiah 46.3-4 CEV

Day 2 of 40: Today’s reading gets real personal, real fast – because I am an unplanned, adopted child. Or… as one callous, insensitive, pro-abortion moron coined it… “an accident.” (But that’s a story for another time.)

Growing up, I never really felt that I fit into my adopted family… my birth origins were kept a family secret (even from me until I was 7 and a neighbor kid told me)… not to be shared outside the family. It was a source of embarrassment? shame? I don’t know what? Except… I kept quiet about it.

It wasn’t until I became a Christian that I had a sense of family identity and heritage. I was made in the image of God… and God knew me and shaped me even before I was born. My family tree included people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… Peter, James and John… Luther, Calvin, Knox. I was in good company.

My birth origins and daily life were all in God’s hands and I tried to live that out over the years as best I knew how… with a lot of grace thrown in.

But now it’s the “old and gray” part that I’m trying to understand. I’m not able to do the things I did before as I worked out God’s purpose for my life… so what now?

In Isaiah 46:3-4, God seems to be saying to me, “Don’t worry about it.” “I created you. I will carry you and always keep you safe.” I guess safety also includes purposeful living… even at my age.

PDL 1 – “It all starts with God”

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”  Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG

I’ve just begun re-reading Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, with a group of friends in our neighborhood. We are meeting weekly to discuss what God is saying to us and my plan here is to reflect on the daily readings. This is Day 1 of 40.

Today’s key point is “Without God life makes no sense.” (Bitov) So… how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God not myself?

Here are three ideas that I came up with – simple, straight forward – the key is staying with them:

  • Start the day with God… morning reading PDL book/scripture – with reflection.
  • Prayer before meals for family, people in our group.
  • End the day with God… evening reading scripture – review the day.

I know that God has a purpose for my life as an older adult. But, everything has changed over the last several years – retirement, illness, loss, aging. My familiar spheres of influence are closed… I’m feeling out of place… adrift.

Maybe I’m looking for God’s purpose in the wrong places…. we’ll see.

Octogenarian Gymnast | German | The Daily Caller

Peanut Gallery: I’m working on this. But that bouncy-thing-at-the-beginning is giving me trouble. Hey… where’s my prednisone?
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Octogenarian | Gymnast | German | The Daily Caller.