I’m Piercing My Nose!

Actually, I’m turning 40, but piercing my nose sounds fun. Right? I mean, growing old isn’t something we call fun, but as my dad says, it’s better than the alternative. And maybe a nose piercing will help me hold on to feeling young.

Yesterday I turned 40, a place I never actually imagined being. It’s still easier for me to imagine my parents at 40 than myself. Weird, daunting, sad, and yet a little exciting. I’m choosing to focus on the exciting. Here’s to the 40’s being better than the 30’s and I can say from personal experience, that everyone was right when they said the 30’s would be better than the 20’s.

Things I am learning:
I will learn to work with and through the wrinkles beginning on my face, the skin sagging in new places, the massive metabolism changes, and the aches that remind me daily of my age. I will enjoy the newly found laughs when talking about ‘the old days,’ pouring into the ‘young moms,’ and being the mom of a teenager. I will use the wisdom I have gained from walking through my 20’s and 30’s and be thankful for the steadily growing relationship I have with Christ.

Things I have learned:
And that my friends, is where we can continually feel young, our faith walk. In my 30’s I realized that my relationship with Christ and growing in my faith are two things that I will never check off the list or call complete. Naively, I had pictured that by making the right choices or finding the right discipline and balance, I would eventually arrive at a place of completion in these areas and then be able to hold steady for the rest of my Earthly days. In reality, what I have found is that every time we say yes to God or walk through a valley in life to reach the next mountaintop, our heavenly father smiles down and then says,  “Let’s do it again.” He points out another area where we can grow or walks with us through another valley, drawing us near in a new and deeper way. I realize now that I will not be checking these things off my list, but anticipating the next and the next walk with Christ.

Things I am choosing:
I will choose in my 40’s to trust God more deeply, pray bigger prayers, and love more unconditionally. I will listen more intently and say yes more quickly to what God is calling me to. I will choose to sleep well, exercise more, and keep trying new things. I will be proud of how far I have come instead of embarrassed by the count of years I have been on this Earth.

I will find ways to keep myself feeling young. And that brings us back to where we began. Shall I pierce my nose in my 40th year of life?!?!?!?