Expiration Date
I set the milk down on the counter. My oldest took a sip and ate his breakfast. The middle kid took a sip and about died. The milk was bad. I checked the expiration date and it was still good. I smelled it (Why do we do this?) and sure enough, it was sour. Gross. I shudder just thinking about it.
You and I are the milk. We think we have expired yet, the date says we’re still good. We have allowed the ways of the world to tell us we are too old or too late. When, in actuality, God does not work on our time frame. He is infinite. If He wants to do something in and through you, it will happen regardless of time.
I turn 40 on Friday. Honestly, I cannot wait. I have been looking forward to this day since I turned 39. I don’t know why I am so excited about this next adventure, but I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I didn’t always feel this way, though. I, too, have struggled with feeling like I am past my expiration date.
It took me until I was 38 years old before I figured out what I want to be when I grow-up. I have always had the passions I am chasing. I haven’t, however, had the focus and ability to live out those passions until recently. It is easy for me to look to my left and my right and see how far behind I am in the game. People my age have established careers. I am just getting started.
“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” Philippians 1:6 MSG (emphasis mine)
My only expiration date is the day I die or the day Jesus returns. Yours too. God started a good work in you and I the day we came into this world. Our expiration date is wrapped up in Jesus not this world. So, drop the number. You do not have an expiration date. If anything, according to Philippians 1:6, the older you get the more you flourish. Each passing day is an opportunity to grow and thrive. God placed a desire in your heart for a reason and that desire does not expire.
It is never too late when it comes to God. When things feel like they are taking too long or that you have missed your chance, remember that God is always on time. Look at some of these examples from the Bible…
Sara was 90 years old & Abraham was 100 years old when they had Isaac.
Moses was around 80 years old when he received the Ten Commandments.
Mary was a teen when she gave birth to Jesus.
God is all over the map when it comes to time and people coming into their callings. You may see some succeeding early in life. While others succeed much later. Neither is better than the other. Both are perfect in God’s timing.
When I look back on the journey that led me to this place, I can see that I needed every second. I started walking in my calling the moment I met Jesus. He began working in and through me the instant I crossed the line of faith. I needed every experience to get me to where I am today. I have not expired. I have only just begun.
Love & Blessings,
Meg