Does it seem to you that birthdays keep rolling around faster and faster, year after year?  Obviously, that means that sooner or later, if we live long enough, each of us is going to grow old. I, for one, want to make the best of my years.  I hope what Psalm 92 says about old age will be true in my life.  Here it is:

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.  [Now notice this part:]
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green (Psalm 92:12-14).

I like that.  Stay fresh and green still bearing fruit in old age. Now that’s the way to live!  Not worrying about wrinkles or a few extra pounds or even aches and pains, but radiant with a desire to live life to its fullest in the place where God puts us. The Message paraphrase of Paul’s words to the Philippians says this:

“Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert…, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back” (Philippians 3:13-14).

High in the Swiss Alps a monument has been erected in honor of a mountain guide who died in the attempt to rescue a stranded tourist. The message inscribed on the stone reads, “He Died Climbing.”  That’s the motto I would like to leave behind when my time on earth has come to an end.

So, I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.  With God’s help, I hope to still bear fruit in old age—fresh and green.