Wednesday Wisdom | Aging Gracefully and Things We Do to Ourselves

A friend recently asked how my new seasonal gig was going.

“It’s going well,” I replied. “But it’s a lot like drinking from a firehose.”

He observed that I always seem to land in roles with a high level of intensity.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right.

Somehow, I have a knack for finding myself in demanding environments. I jump in, get engaged, give it my all, and before long, the rhythms I’ve worked so hard to establish begin to unravel.

My morning routines get disrupted. My sleep schedule gets jacked up again. The walking, the quiet time, the space to think, create, and simply breathe start getting squeezed out by the demands of the day.

And here’s the thing: I know better.

At 61, I’m beginning to understand that aging gracefully isn’t just about accepting the physical changes that come with getting older. It’s also about becoming wiser about how we live, what we take on, and what we’re willing to sacrifice along the way.

Some of the things that wear us down are beyond our control. Life happens. Family needs change. Work demands increase. Unexpected challenges show up without checking our calendars first.

But sometimes, we contribute to our own exhaustion.

We say yes when we should say no. We push through when we should pause. We convince ourselves that we can keep operating at the same intensity indefinitely. We allow the urgent to crowd out the important, and then wonder why we feel depleted.

Sound familiar?

I’m not suggesting we avoid hard work or run away from responsibility. There are seasons when God calls us to stretch, serve, sacrifice, and step into challenging situations. Faithfulness isn’t always comfortable.

Wisdom isn’t synonymous with running ourselves into the ground.

Jesus understood the importance of withdrawing from the crowds to pray. Even amid the demands of His ministry, He made room for time with the Father. If Jesus intentionally stepped away from the demands around Him, perhaps we ought to give ourselves permission to do the same.

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.4.26.NLT

Part of growing older is learning to ponder our paths a little more carefully. Not every opportunity requires a yes. Not every challenge needs to become our next all-consuming adventure. And not every season of life calls for us to run at full throttle.

I’m still learning this. Apparently, I need the occasional friend to hold up a mirror and remind me of what should be obvious by now.

The goal isn’t to do less simply because we’re getting older. It’s to grow wiser about how we spend the days God gives us.

I want to serve faithfully, love my family well, keep creating, stay connected to God, and enjoy the life He’s given me. I don’t want to be so busy doing things for Him that I neglect the very life He’s entrusted to me.

Wisdom begins with admitting that we might be making life harder on ourselves than it needs to be.

Sometimes the most important changes we need to make aren’t about changing our circumstances. They’re about changing the patterns we keep bringing into them.

And nobody can go to tell God’s message to people unless God sends them. This is written in the Bible: ‘When people arrive to tell us good news, we say “welcome!”

Romans 10:15 EASY

What about you? Have you discovered any patterns you need to change as you grow older?