What Happened to My Life!

Ema with Colonel Sanders of KFC printed on it

There comes a certain point in you life when you begin to realize that there is more time behind you than ahead. For some, it is the realization that they haven't fulfilled any of the dreams that they had for their life. When they were younger, they could say: "Well, I have plenty of time! There's no hurry." And before they know it, those same men or women are looking in the mirror, counting their gray hairs and the new wrinkle on their face and wondering where the time went. Still others, get to that point in life and have accomplished most of their dreams. And they get bored because they don't think they will have the fun and excitement of accomplishment ever again.

They have arrived and are now asking the question: "Is that all there is?" It is at this point that many, men especially, have what has been called a mid-life crisis. In my younger years I used to see these older men running around with their shirts unbuttoned clear to their navels, driving some expensive foreign car that they probably couldn't afford and trying to pick up women half their age. Some of these men still sported the long hair from their youth, even though they were completely bald on the top. What was left of their hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Truthfully, they looked rather pathetic, trying to regain some long lost youth.

Even more sad are the men, who leave their wives and families because they get the feeling that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. They leave behind years of building a relationship with a woman that has shared their triumphs and tragedies and helped rear their children, for someone younger and "more exciting'. Well, like all relationships, the initial excitement wears off and then they start to see the weeds in the grass across the fence. Usually by that time it is too late. Their ex-wives have either moved on, or simply refuse to take them back.

While not all of us go through a mid-life crisis, most, if not all of us, get to a point where we start to reevaluate our lives and ask ourselves if we need to make some changes. What a person has to realize is that, while we can never recapture our youth, that doesn't mean that our life is over. As a matter of fact, there are a number of examples of people who have accomplished their greatest life's work on the other side of 50. Life doesn't end until you're dead. Until then it is all right to continue to dream dreams and accomplish great things.

Just to name some seniors who did great things, Grandma Moses whose paintings hang in 9 museums in the United States and in Vienna and Paris, was 76 when she turned out her first picture. Now her works sell for millions of dollars. Col. Harland Sanders was 65 when he took part of his first Social Security check to begin what is now KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Ronald Reagan became governor of California at age 61, and later President of the United States. Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales between the ages of 54 and 61. Leonardo da Vinci was drawing sketches in his 60's and Leo Tolstoy was writing novels into his 70's. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Instead of worrying over where our lives have gone, it's time again to think about where they are going. Instead of wondering if there is a more exciting spouse out there, let us take the time to get reacquainted with the one that captured our heart in our youth. Instead of wanting to be 25 again, think of all of the life experience and wisdom that we have acquired that we knew nothing about as a younger person. And let us use that experience to accomplish what we may have been afraid to do when we were younger.

There is an old saying that states: "Life begins at 40." I would like to amend that to say that life begins the moment we realize that every day we live is a precious gift that we can choose to use to reach our full potentials, and change the world for the better in some way. So no matter how old you are, let life begin now! Find a challenge and overcome it. Choose to wear out and not rust out. Make every day you live, the best day of your life!

My name is Jeff Shirley. I am a Pastor of a small church in the West Michigan area. I also own an online store called Coo Coo for Clocks. We sell clocks of all kinds, and strive to get time pieces that are affordable, functional and beautiful. At our store, we have what you need. So visit us at http://coocooforclocks.biz/ Our motto is: "We make telling time fun!"

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