Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Birthdays and Halftime


"A pier is nothing other than a frustrated bridge. It is connected to one shore only and does not have another shore to attach itself to."

Today is my birthday, and it has become a day of great reflection. Forty years ago my mom pushed out her baby boy. As the youngest I pride myself on being a momma's boy. My job description will never veer or change from that.

The questions that arise in times of life-reflection are always the same on. The BIG questions , or so I've heard, start hitting near the end of your third decade. You begin to feel something coming. It's not a bad feeling-simply the sense that something is not entirely pleasant around the corner. Sometimes it comes in the form of questions about your contribution.

"Is what I'm doing important?"
"Does it matter to anyone but me?"
"Do I have enough?"

Enough of what? Enough time to dream on? Enough money to live? If you are like most people, we are more comfortable at the current stage than our parents were at the same stage. And yet, the future still seems uncertain. You begin to question your effectiveness in the past. The desire to make your life count has arrived in full force. You sensed it as a teenager, you felt it as a young adult. But now a few aches and pains, and time that shows some miles of travel in your rear view mirror, push you to reevaluate it all.

"I have found that what I have been feeling is normal; and the changes I desire are reachable."

God is behind it all. To begin something new and freshen up what you dare not let go of brings into focus a fresh vision of the rest of your life. More important, there is a need for something that makes you want to get up in the morning. And that nagging sense that instead of just working for money to pay bills, we want to do something that counts. Stuck, yet wanting to move into something fresh. Bob Buford calls this "Halftime." The awkward, disconcerting place between a gut-wrenching, hard-charging, first half of life, and the second half; a life filled with the hope of making a difference, makes evaluation of life more intense.

Time is passing by..and that begins to scare the fool out of me.

A word about lost years- You and I cannot reclaim lost time, but God can. He told Job in Scripture that He can restore the years that the locust have eaten. He can walk backward and reclaim in the second half of life the wasted time in the first half.

These moments carry with them an unmistakable fact- You do not want to, and you may even be able to continue doing what you do with the same level of intensity and passion. Something has to change, and you would prefer to have a hand in what the change looks like. Changing where you have been provides data for the future; changing where you are going provides an opportunity for the unknown to become a reality.

The truth about me is that I feel the best, look the best, and become the best when I am investing in the lives of others. So, I better get busy, because the second half MUST rock....

I hear the whistle blowing...halftime is over. Game on!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said, Brady! I find myself in a similar place in my life and it is comforting to know that I am not alone. :) Happy Birthday! And may God bless you with another 40 great years to serve and celebrate Him and His love!!!!!!!

Sherri Langford

Unknown said...

What you said hit home with me. This year (the big 4-0) has been one of questioning where I have been and where I am going, as well as who I am now. The passage about the years the locusts have eaten gives me such hope that it isn't too late to be who God made me to be. With God's help my life will count where it matters most-in His kingdom.