Growing in Grace

Growing big and growing old seem to go hand-in-hand.

I can say this with authority as I continue to traverse the road toward numerical maturity. I can't speak for the rest of the baby boomers of my generation, but I have certainly grown bigger in many dimensions with every calendar page thrown away.

For one, I receive a year worth of grace more than a person one year my junior. Therefore I have the advantage of enjoying that grace ahead of the game.

After the ticking of thousands of hours, my sight is set toward new directions:   

1. Planning big.
2. Saving big.
3. Dreaming big.

Planning for tomorrow (as in the day after tonight) has become far bigger than planning for the next ten years. As a friend said in a party I attended recently, “What is, is; what ain't, ain't.” What will happen in the next two years is too far out; the biggie is now.

A verse in the Bible (ESV) captures this exactly, Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Saving for the future, like stashing money in the bank and investing in stock market, seem so miniscule compared to what I can spend for the things I enjoy today. P1,000 is mega bucks and having more than that on payday is like winning first prize in lottery.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”

Dreaming big is . . . seeing the latest photo of Adrian; catching the boys for a weekend getaway; trying out a new exotic restaurant; preparing for my next lesson in Sunday School; chatting with my siblings and friends; having fellowship over potluck lunch with my faith family in church; shopping for snacks at a nearby mall; then to cap my day, writing and reading. 

Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Three little words seem to aptly summarize growing-big-and-growing-old: growing in grace.

My 2013 was a year of big blessings of both grief and joy, failures and successes.

Big reasons to give big thanks to the big God who dispenses big grace.

Cyber friends, may you be favored with big blessings in 2014! Happy new year!  

photo credit