Recently, I looked in the mirror and asked myself a question. Am I fulfilling the path that God has put me on?
When I was young, I couldn’t wait to get older and live my own life. The problem was that I had no idea what that meant. I would look in the mirror and see the reflection of a person I did not know. I did not know who I was, who I should be, or who the world thought I was. I did not know what was waiting for me.
Most of my life, I was trying to please or be like someone else. As a grown woman, I continued to search for the person that was inside of me but only skimmed the surface. I never tried to discover “me”; my strengths, my success.
Now, at my age, the world's view is I'm past the prime of my life. What exactly does that mean?
Google says the definition of prime is “a state or time of greatest strength, vigor, or success in a person's life.” If this is true, then why do I feel at the age of 69 that I’m in the prime of my life? Is there anyone else who might feel the same as me? At my age, if my life was painted in a series of sketches, what would they show?
When I think about it, two people come to my mind. The first is Abraham Lincoln. If we took paint and brush to canvas, what would we see? His first attempt at a job failed, miserably. He then ran for the state legislature, unsuccessfully. He applied to law school and was laughed out of consideration. The woman he loved died, and he had a nervous breakdown. He ran for Congress and lost. Six years later he ran and won. The list of losses continues.
Then in 1860, he was elected president of the United States. He was 51 years of age, long past the prime of his life.
The second person who was past his prime of life is Paul of the New Testament. Paul, then Saul of Tarsus, persecuted Christians and was present when Stephen was stoned to death. If we put paint and brush to his early life, we would not want his paintings on our walls.
But, if we stay close to his side, and see the man who was transformed on the Road of Damascus, we begin to see different strokes of the brush. The Word of God shows us how a man who hated Christians became a man, other than Jesus, who had the most profound influence on humanity. He was a man that was past his prime.
At my age, if my life was painted in a series of sketches, what would they show?
My life is not where I thought it would be. Four years ago, God told us to move from New York to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Talk about a culture shock!
In New York, I ran a book club, Yahweh Sisterhood Book Club. When I moved to Fort Wayne, God said bring the fellowship of the book club with you. This time, ask the authors to speak either in person or on Facebook. WHAT! Me? I listened, I asked, and they said yes. I also followed my chosen path and started a nonprofit. All of this was accomplished after my prime of life.
What does your prime of life look like? You worked hard and endured many hardships. Maybe life was not what you thought it would be. Maybe, you are living the “American dream.”
No matter how young or old you are, you are in the prime of your life. May you be encouraged to put paint and brush to your canvass and see where God will take you.
This post originally appeared on Snark and Sensibility on June 24, 2019.