I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4

People born between the years of 1946 and 1964 (the official American “Boomer” population) now range in age from 50 through 68. My year, 1956, falls pretty-much squarely in the middle.

I’ve loved every age I’ve ever been. Life is good, period, and I wake up every morning grateful for the opportunity to experience another day. Age really is just a number, and in many ways I believe I’m younger today than I was a decade ago.

But, no matter how you rearrange the numbers – “New Math,” “Traditional Math,” or even “Fuzzy Math” – there’s no denying I’m well into middle-age.

Like I said, I’ve enjoyed all my life so far; but there’s something special going on at this stage that I believe is unique and wonderful. So, as a public service to “young” people who may dread growing older, and as a shout-out to my compadres of the Baby-Boomer persuasion, here is a list covering “10 Reasons Middle-Age Rocks.”

Some are serious, some are more whimsical. Enjoy:

1. The “nest” is empty: Need I say more?
2. After 35-years of practice, Rebekah and I are pretty darned good at being married: This cumulative, passionate, work hard at it, always default to grace, always practice kindness, worth the struggle, deeper by the moment, Grand Adventure will never settle into cruise control. Rebekah is quite possibly the best reason I have to love this time of my life.
3. $241,080: According to a recent government report, that’s how much it costs to raise a child from birth to 18 (and those numbers probably reflect the “discount” program). No offense, most excellent offspring, it was an amazing privilege to launch you into this world; but we’re happy and proud to see you make your own way, solvent, and “off the payroll.”
4. We ditched the mini-van: Rebekah’s first utterance after the dust settled, and after four (or five? they were all the same) minivans in a row – “I get an SUV now, right? Can I? Can I? Can I?”
5. Flexibility: Plans can change at a moment’s notice. on the fly, and we only have to tell each other!
6. Living arrangements: When we moved to North Carolina it was the first time we’d purchased a house without children in the equation. Maul-Hall.4 doesn’t have three bedrooms – it has an owner’s retreat, Rebekah’s craft room, and Derek’s study.
7. Rather than worrying about where life is going, we can simply enjoy life where it is: It’s not that we’ve stopped growing and learning, but that middle age allows the luxury – and the awareness – of the beauty of the moment. Middle-age says, “Keep moving forward, yes, but we don’t have to be in such a hurry.”
8. Grandchildren: We’re old enough to have them, but still young enough to enjoy them. Nothing says “life rocks” quite like a couple of beautiful toddlers.
9. Perspective: There really is a clear view of life here on top of the “50’s” mountain. Middle-age find new clarity on the other side of the fog, and it’s more possible to see where everything fits. So many things that might have caused stress earlier in life simply don’t matter any more.
10. Spirituality: We are beings made for eternity. When life itself ceases to look like an eternity, a new understanding of immortality begins to emerge. My identity, my definition as a living being, has shifted its epicenter toward the spiritual.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16

– DEREK