Rip Van Winkle…Wake up!

“Age is not the enemy.  Stagnation is the enemy.  Complacency is the enemy.  Stasis is the enemy.” _Twyla Tharp, Professional Dancer, age 80

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I don’t know how I’ve done it, but somehow I’ve accumulated a number of birthdays.  Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle who went to sleep one day and woke up 20 years later. 

So when I read quotes like Twyla Tharp’s above it inspires me. 

Every age has it’s challenges. 

Potty training yourself is tough!  I don’t remember it myself, but I’ve witnessed it first-hand eight times with my two children and six grandchildren.

And then there’s the stage where you have to learn to walk.  I have a granddaughter right now who has still not seen the benefit of walking compared to having others carry you around.

Then there’s those adolescent years—we adults can forget how tough that can be. 

• Learning to ride a bicycle
• Playground bullies
• School cafeteria food
• Your first night away from home at summer camp

And then those teen age years…let’s do not even go there.  All I can say is, give the teenagers in your life every possible break you can.

And then comes college and work and marriage and starting a family and saying good-bye to children who grew up to quickly and helping them go to school and get married and starting a family and one day like Rip Van Winkle you wake up with a truckload of birthdays and wonder how it all happened.

It happened one day at a time. 

And the good news is, every day had purpose, meaning, and a pay-off. 

God has given you a certain number of days and they are meant to be lived—fully!

As you enter every new stage of life you have to walk away from the past stage of life.  The options you have as a child are not the same as the ones you have as an adult.  Being single and being married are two very different stages of life.

And throw in a few children…talk about a game changer!

And on it goes.  Year after year.  Season after season.  One day you’re trying to figure out how to go to the potty yourself and the next day you’re changing your children’s diapers.  One day your mom kisses you and sends you off to school and the next day you’re attending your own children’s graduation. 

Bottom line…

The ONE THING for today:

Every stage of life has it’s challenges and it’s joys.  But one thing stays the same: Life is meant to be lived fully—every day, every year, every decade. 

Wake up Rip Van Winkle!  Time’s a wasting.  You’ve got some living to do…today!