Today, while filling up my Chick-fil-A mug with my second dose of coffee, I met a lively, elderly man we will call Bill.
Intrigued at my involvement in Focus, Bill began to ask where my comrades and my stomping grounds were. We listed off three different states in three very different parts of the country. Bill had a story to go with each. Of course, the extent of his story about South Dakota was that he drove through it, but I’m used to this response.
Bill then went on to tell us an abbreviated, well-rehearsed, life story. Ten years as a pastor here, 20 years living there, 30 more years ministering out there. The verbal biography ended with, “Oh, and I’m 90!”
What?! Completely taken off guard, we complimented him on his looks and agility. His smile proved that he got this a lot. Bill then told us his secret to life. First, he gave the glory to his creator. “… only by God’s grace,” he humbly admitted. Second, he credited barbells, and you guessed it: ping-pong! “I actually just got back from the Y,” he confessed with an ear-to-ear grin.
What a man, what a life, and what a legacy he will leave. I would have loved to sit down with Bill and hear out his journey of life and how God led him from point A to point B. At 90 years old, this man’s ministry was still in full force. He pulled out his business card and told us about the current work he is doing.
I only hope that I can be filled with this much passion and perseverance now in my youth and into every day that God gives me. As Christians we’re never too old or too young. God can use us right where we are at.
Whether 9 or 99, book worms, or ping-pong pros, God has a plan. We just need to take on the happy heart of service and continue to seek out His will.
