Energize Me

Colossians 1:29
To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
         
          Just this verse alone used to energize me!  I've always loved knowing that God would give me strength for every task.  I knew I was tapping into a secret weapon when people would tell me to slow down or that they didn't know how I did so much.  I loved the busyness of my life.
           I was dazzled and inspired by the elderly Caleb claiming to have still possess the undiminished vigor of his youth.  I was pretty sure I'd never slow down.  Here's what Caleb said at
85 years old:

Johsua 14:11
I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.

          The other day, as Ron and I were co-ordinating our very full pages of appointments, he said he'd like to catch an afternoon movie.  I said maybe we could work it in on Thursday.
          "I can't live working things in anymore," he said.  "I need a little breathing room between appoinments--a little space to breathe."
          How well said!  I needed this concept put into words.  "Me, too!" I said.  It was like an epiphany on a psychiatrist's couch for me. 
          With humility and gratitude I accept that God still gives me the energy to work for him.  It's just not at the same levels I experienced in my youth.  I can no loger "work it in." I think this is part of His plan.  Maybe this slower pace makes room for the next generation to take their place in advancing the kingdom.  Maybe it's to give us the opportunity to sit back and assess the wisdom that has accumulated over the years and figure out the best ways to pass it on.
          Whatever it is, it is a fact that I am foolish to ignore.  Every lesson of life matters. The trasitions in life are lessons within themselves.