55

Today I turn 55.

I am feeling all of those years creaking and groaning inside me.

My fifties have easily been my most challenging and disillusioning decade, and they are only half over. But I choose these things today, and wonder what you will choose for yourself:

I choose gratefulness. Gratefulness for so many people I love, for the creativity, wisdom, justice, passion, and commitment I see in them.

I choose curiosity. I want to learn people’s histories and stories and idiosyncrasies. I want to learn and not stagnate.

I choose respect. I want to get better at seeing the dignity and worth of each person, bring my own prejudices to healing light, and discover more and better actions to empower others to live as they were created to be.

I choose advocacy. I want to build relationships and use my experience and voice to open doors for others.

I choose integrity. I want to discipline myself to keep my values at the heart of my actions. I want to remain open to recognizing when I’ve failed to do that, and invite correction, change, and growth.

I choose faithfulness. My life has been shaped by experiences with Creator God, and I choose to continue growing in walking in the way of Jesus.

I choose love. Receiving it, giving it, celebrating it, making it tangible and touchable on a human-to-human scale.

And, I choose to recognize that the circumstances I experience aren’t in my control, and that a life worth living comes from how I choose to live and be in my family, community, and world.

May it be.

(Bonus content: here’s me at 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, and tonight at 55, with some of those I love and am grateful for.)

55 year old me celebrating with Elaine and a dinner out.