This isn’t a significant birthday on Saturday – the big one is next year, but at this stage in life, well, the years ahead  become finite which changes one’s outlook on life, or it does mine,  but not always in a negative way. However, I have become more aware of how I choose to process information (‘think’ in other words) and these are some of my thoughts on life as a senior. (I don’t think I am a senior but my birth date tells me I am.)   

Now that I have time to absorb more of the news, it really is mostly depressing, and that makes it so easy to fall into the trap of ‘how bad the world is these days’, a topic relished by some in the mature age group.  I am so thankful that I have such a magnificent view to greet me each day, a fact not lost on those who follow my photos on  Facebook ( sorry about that but sometimes I just have to post yet another photo). However as I check out the view, it reminds me of how much God loves me and the people he has made, to provide us with such natural beauty to enjoy. Then my thoughts turn to people who are suffering so much because of corruption and hatred in their country and with the latest news headlines, this can be quite overwhelming. It can seem selfish to enjoy so much when so many have so little.

Downsizing is supposed to be something which should be done now or at least started,   but I just can’t come at it. I have tried but as I look at what could be given away, I remember who gave me that or the circumstances in which I acquired it and back it goes behind glass, to be remembered as part of  some stage in my life.  Memories (the good ones!) are important especially in the absence of friends or family.

I was recently reading Matthew 19:24 where Jesus states that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven”. There never seems to be enough money. Saving for a house deposit;   paying   a mortgage; living on a fixed income –   our attitude to money determines so much of who we are. Having a responsible attitude to money is very important but there are many ways in which we can enjoy ourselves while being ‘careful’ but without becoming mean or miserable.

There are some things which disappoint me and I feel as if I am not making proper use of the talents God has given me. Because the local churches are not mission orientated, there are not enough teachers for Religious Education in the local school so there is no teaching of Christianity at the school, nor is there any visible outreach in the community. I have had wonderful and fulfilling times  teaching RE at the school and being part of a church which has reached out to the community, but  I cannot in all conscience, attend a church which I see as self serving. I must not become cynical!

Keeping active, eating a healthy diet, staying alert and stimulating, looking after one’s health – the messages can seem endless- yet how marvellous is modern medicine and the emphasis on how to properly enjoy these senior years ( and save the government money!).  Sometimes it seems all too hard and it is so much easier to curl up with a good book but with the thought of ‘use it or lose it’ one must ‘keep on keeping on’.

With a ‘Mostly Chocolate’ brunch to prepare for twenty people, I have much to do in the next two days and what fun that is. After that it is pack for a few weeks in Myanmar where I will meet up with our son and his wife who work there. And the next thing it will be Christmas when it is time to celebrate with our daughter and family whom we only manage to see about twice a year.

All these exciting things to look forward to and the wonderful love of a heavenly father, what a way to spend a birthday.