ON TURNING 60

Last weekend, Fran and I drove down to South Park to attend the “60th Birthday Party for the Baldwin High School Class of 1968”. Most of us who made up the graduating class of about 680 students have turned, or will turn 60 sometime in 2010. In addition to sharing the common experience of graduating together, we also seemed to share a sense of amazement at how quickly we have reached this point in our lives.
We had a lot of fun that day as we reminisced about our high school days. The memories filed away in my mind are fairly general in nature, but some of my classmates have an incredible recall of specific details of events that took place over four decades ago. We laughed often and loud as we listened to some of the more animated and extroverted (or slightly inebriated) tell their stories. I had a great time watching my classmates interact through the course of the day.

Mark, a friend who goes back to elementary school days, is probably the funniest person I have ever met. His wife, Lorie – a perfect match for him – was equally entertaining. Trent, one of the most optimistic and outgoing people I know, provided music from our era, and in doing so, demonstrated his love for the tunes of the day. My friend from our days in the choir at Baldwin, Edd, moved through the crowd, engaging in quiet conversation with former classmates. Knowing him, I am sure that the conversations were not only quiet but caring, because that’s the kind of man he is. Bob, one of my football teammates, joined me in cooking hot dogs and hamburgers. When not serving in that fashion, he was always looking for other ways to help when not engaging others with his genuine “nice guy” personality and wonderful sense of humor. Mike, although feeling under the weather that day, transported an entire pickup truck load of supplies and equipment to make the event a success. He always was a great team player. Linda, a person I hadn’t even known while in high school, was in constant motion. Diminutive in stature, but large in personality, she became more and more of a friend as they day went on. The person I enjoyed watching the most was my wife of 39 years – Fran. Although not part of our graduating class, she could have been. God has blessed Fran with a wonderful, outgoing personality, and it was great to see her having such a good time, engaging in conversation, and sometimes entertaining my classmates.
One of many things I have learned on the way to 60 is that everyone has challenges in life. One cannot live life in this world without having to deal with some event, or perhaps multiple events that caused anxiety, pain, and heartache. It has been no different for the Class of 1968. A couple of my classmates had coronary by-pass surgery. Another with children in their twenties had recently been divorced. One of the people who has been instrumental in keeping the class somewhat connected over the last forty years received the hard news that she had breast cancer – less than two weeks ago. Strong woman that she is – she attended the picnic. Then there are those who could not make it to the picnic – because they did not make it to age 60…
As I think back on that day – the “60th Birthday Party for the Baldwin High School Class of 1968”, I am reminded of the abundance of God’s blessing in my life. Frankly, I take much of his blessing for granted. One of my favorite Psalms is the 103rd. Verse 2 says “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- “. My paraphrase is “try not to forget everything he has done for you.” This past Saturday, I was reminded that I must try not to forget the blessing of knowing so many fine people from a time so long ago. But I have been reminded of something even more important…
Later on in Psalm 103, David wrote:
14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD's love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children's children-

David said that our “days are like grass.” When we were 18, we flourished “like a flower in the field.” Life, like the wind David refers to, blows hard and fast, and much, much faster than we ever imagined, we are 60. Life, my good friends, is fleeting. In light of that reality, how then shall we live? Each of us must find our answer to that question.
As for me, my desire is to live the remainder of the days that God gives me with these priorities: God first, Family second, and ALWAYS FRIENDS.
May it be so…

In Christ -

John