April 17
Feeling Young?
He will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:20 (NAS)
Sometimes reunions can be so odd. I remember going to my 25-year reunion for my Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training class. We graduated in May of 1978 under a hot desert sun. Back then, we were hopeful, anxious second lieutenants, but here, we were meeting as an assortment of retired military, airline pilots, test pilots and businessmen. Egads! What a bunch.
I think I was the last to arrive at the hotel in lovely Del Rio, Texas. Not the Carlton or the Ritz, but something more suited to this quaint bordertown. I found my pilot friends had gathered poolside for drinks and back-slapping good conversation. As Kris and I entered the courtyard, I spied the wives cloistered at a patio table under a colorful umbrella. My macho classmates—at least nine of them standing near the pool—turned and tipped their hats in greeting. I lifted my hat in exaggerated reply and ... a cheer went up!
Come to find out, they had a bet on who would have the LEAST amount of hair! I guess I should be glad I didn’t win that one, but given the cheer I know it was close!
I remember another reunion, this one an extended family get together where, one night, we went around the room and shared how old we felt. Everyone from 20 to 80-plus years of age said they felt younger than their years ... except me. I was forty-something then and said I felt fifty-something. I just felt older....
That was then. This is now, and I feel so much younger than 52. I don’t really think about it—like the verse says—but if someone asked, “Craig, how old do you feel?”
I would respond, “Not a day over forty!”
Praise God! I feel YOUNG. There’s gladness in my heart. Are you glad too?
Lord, thanks for the joy you bring each day.
Feeling Young?
He will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:20 (NAS)
Sometimes reunions can be so odd. I remember going to my 25-year reunion for my Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training class. We graduated in May of 1978 under a hot desert sun. Back then, we were hopeful, anxious second lieutenants, but here, we were meeting as an assortment of retired military, airline pilots, test pilots and businessmen. Egads! What a bunch.
I think I was the last to arrive at the hotel in lovely Del Rio, Texas. Not the Carlton or the Ritz, but something more suited to this quaint bordertown. I found my pilot friends had gathered poolside for drinks and back-slapping good conversation. As Kris and I entered the courtyard, I spied the wives cloistered at a patio table under a colorful umbrella. My macho classmates—at least nine of them standing near the pool—turned and tipped their hats in greeting. I lifted my hat in exaggerated reply and ... a cheer went up!
Come to find out, they had a bet on who would have the LEAST amount of hair! I guess I should be glad I didn’t win that one, but given the cheer I know it was close!
I remember another reunion, this one an extended family get together where, one night, we went around the room and shared how old we felt. Everyone from 20 to 80-plus years of age said they felt younger than their years ... except me. I was forty-something then and said I felt fifty-something. I just felt older....
That was then. This is now, and I feel so much younger than 52. I don’t really think about it—like the verse says—but if someone asked, “Craig, how old do you feel?”
I would respond, “Not a day over forty!”
Praise God! I feel YOUNG. There’s gladness in my heart. Are you glad too?
Lord, thanks for the joy you bring each day.
posted by Craig Soderquist at 2:11 PM
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