Time Travel

Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh. Exodus 7:7 NASB

Eighty years old – Today is my birthday. I will be celebrating it on an airplane flying over the Atlantic. I have been celebrating birthdays at 35,000 feet for quite a number of years now. Seems like the preparation work for a birthday on land isn’t quite finished. It reminds me of Moses. When he turned my age, he was on the backside of the wilderness, tending sheep. He was probably wondering what happened to his life. Once he was destined for royal occupation. Once he was respected. Once he was somebody. But now, all these years later, he was simply a shepherd in a remote part of the country, anonymous and unfulfilled. Preparation time. Only he didn’t know it. He didn’t know that a decade later he would be standing in front of the most powerful man on earth, proclaiming the will of YHVH. He didn’t know he would lead the people out of bondage. He didn’t know that he would become the most famous prophet of Israel. All he knew was that he was traveling in some far corner of the world, trying to figure out why his life seemed so purposeless. I’m guessing that if he celebrated birthdays he had more than one in a remote place all alone.

Please don’t take my reflection on Moses as if I were complaining about my birthday. No, I am blessed. I’m flying over the Atlantic so that I can get to Virginia Beach to spend quality time with dear friends. I’m flying over the Atlantic because I have spent almost a month with Rosanne in Italy, doing a bit of research for some pretty exciting projects to come. I’m flying over the Atlantic because I have the ability to go from one continent to another in a few hours instead of months. No, don’t feel as if I am missing out on anything. Just recognize that I am experiencing time travel—the time I have traveled on this life long journey to discover myself and my God.

Some cultures don’t celebrate birthdays. I’m not sure why. It seems to me that the day of birth is a real celebration. It is the beginning of a personal journey toward intention, and beginnings are important. Of course, so are endings, but just like our birthdays, we have very little say about our end days. What we can do something about is all the in-between days, all of those celebrations of still being here, alive and kicking, moving toward the end day in a deliberate way. And today I have the opportunity to reflect on all those in-between days of my life. All the things that have happened that I never expected. All the twists and turns of my life that have brought me to this place, 35,000 feet above the Atlantic. All the people I have met, the friends I have made, the ones I love. What a blessed life I have! What an honor it is to live today! How exciting to know that God still has more in store. I have been given the great gift of life and the thrill of becoming human. It’s just amazing.

So, thank you. Each of you. You’ve changed me. I wasn’t on this path before God got His hands on me and altered my course. And now the direction of my life wanders through your life. I couldn’t have asked for a greater challenge or a greater reward. I’ll wave to you from 35,000 feet—and I hope to see you soon.