In a few months, I’ll celebrate another birthday — my 75th this year.
Honestly, I never expected to get this far along in life.
When younger, I always thought 75 was old. But if I believe one of my late uncles, my 75th birthday amounts to 7+5 = 12. So I’ll be 12 years old in a few months in his age calculation.
I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to be 12 again. I guess I don’t know the difference between 75 and 12. There may not be much of a difference.
As a youngster, my mother would often say in a very sarcastic tone, “Are you ever going to grow up?” Sometimes she’d say, “Just grow up.”
At the time, I didn’t quite understand what she was saying. By the time I reached 6 foot tall, I began to realize that wasn’t what she meant by growing up. Of course, I really don’t know what she meant by that.
What does growing up mean?
The only person I know who has honestly grown up is The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha. After all, that’s why I married her. If she’s grown up, then I don’t have to, which has been the case all through these years of marital bliss.
Every once in a while, when I do something really stupid, she’ll say, “Oh, why don’t you just grow up.”
Of course, if I knew what she meant by “grow up,” I might do a little bit about it. But I’m enjoying life too much to stop and try to figure out what it means to grow up.
After all, one grown up in a marriage is all that’s needed, right? Since she’s a grown-up, I don’t have to worry about it.
This year, we’ll celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary. In that time, I’d never noticed I’d achieved any “grow up” status.
All of that weighs on Martha’s shoulders. She’s the grown-up in this relationship, and I’m very happy with that.
When you grow up, you lose a lot of fun times in your life. What’s the purpose of that?
I want to live life on the “Fun Train,” and my understanding is you can’t ride it once you’ve grown up.
Whenever someone accuses me of doing something stupid, my excuse is, “I’m just not grown up yet.” That’s saved me when in many tough situations.
When I’m ready, I’ll surrender to being grown up. Until then, I’m going to enjoy all of the fun things in life. When I run out of steam for enjoying these things, I’ll consider growing up.
As I was reflecting on this, a Bible verse in Peter came to mind.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
— 2 Peter 3: 18
Honestly, I’m not sure what it means to “grow up,” but my focus as a Christian is in that verse. I’m to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
The most important growth is my relationship with Christ.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected].
