I once talked to a man who said sadly that he wished he could be a pastor. He always felt a call, but he’d ignored it. Now, it was simply too late. “What?” I said. “You’re only 32 years old. You’re practically still a kid.”
He looked at me like I was just being nice. In his mind, 32 was ancient and beyond the age where he could possibly go back to school.
In my career as a music teacher, I’ve talked to many parents who wish they’d taken piano lessons when they were young. Now, they say, it’s too late.
“What?” I always say. “It’s never too late, unless you’re dead.”
I wonder why so many people limit themselves just because they’re no longer young. Maybe it has to do with our youth-centered culture. After all, when we watch TV, we see mostly young, attractive people. and most of our pop musical artists are young, too.
It’s just silly. After gaining so much life experience, we then conclude that we’re not as useful or as capable as a young person because we have some lines on our faces, or our joints feel stiff.
What about age-accumulated wisdom? Why do we not value that?
In biblical times, age was something to be revered. A mature person was someone to listen to. People listen to my husband, Bruce because he’s accumulated a lot of wisdom over the years:
Consider these famous authors:
Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables when he was sixty. I find it hard to believe he would have done a better job writing this masterpiece if he were, say, thirty, or even forty.
Poet T. S. Eliot was sixty when he won the 1948 Nobel Prize in literature.
At sixty-one, Clarence Day wrote Life With Father. Do you think he could have written this if he hadn’t had forty years to gain perspective on his growing-up days?
At sixty-two, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. This masterpiece required years of study in medieval history and linguistics.
If God has put a dream in your heart, don’t let age stop you.
It’s never too late.
“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” (Job 12:12 NIV Bible)