The other day, an old lady asked me, “Doctor, how are you doing?”
Of course, I said I’m doing well. But what was she really asking? She wanted to look beyond my professional façade, to see if I’m in good spirits and might still be around for her for a few more years…
This moment made me reflect. I’m living the time I always dreamed of as a child. I never wanted to waste time playing like the others—I wanted to read, to immerse myself in many great books. And I wanted to be grown up. But when does one truly become grown up?
On my 50th birthday, my father wrote me a letter saying, “At 50, you’re almost ‘dry behind the ears.’” That really made me think.
By 50, you’re no longer afraid of everything that might happen. Most of what you once feared has either come to pass, or it hasn’t—we’ve all survived it anyway. And then comes the time when you can finally respond with calm confidence, just as you intended, able to act rather than just wait and react.
For me (and maybe for you, too), these truths hold:
- Now is the time! If not now, when? (Colossians 4:5)
- If God is for me, who can be against me? (Romans 8:31)
- With my God, I can leap over walls. (Psalm 18:30)
- With God, I experience works prepared in advance. (Ephesians 2:10)
- In Christ, we experience one victory after another. Care to bet? (2 Corinthians 2:14)