Looking Both Ways

Read Proverbs 20

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

Proverbs 20:29

Middle age offers a unique time for reflection. This proverb sounds like someone wrote it in the central days of life. Middle-agers can look in both directions. They look back on earlier life; they look forward to their senior years. They have enough experience to realize past mistakes and can reasonably expect enough time to make important corrections.

Obviously, what amazes middle-agers about youth is the raw, seemingly unlimited energy they exude. It’s tiring to even think about it. Mid-lifers also wonder when they might exhibit the kind of quiet wisdom and experience that seems so obvious in their seasoned elders.

So, what is the splendor and glory of the in-between years? As mentioned above, it is the incomplete perspective that includes two kinds of opportunity: a chance to acknowledge that the energy of youth is not inexhaustible and a chance to make significant adjustments in life as the autumn years approach. An acceptance of both these opportunities marks the wisdom and beauty of middle age.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Every passage in life has its benefits.

Today, Lord, help me live my age. Help me to be grateful for the years you have given and hopeful of years of service and obedience in the future. I also anticipate heaven!