Have You Ever Felt Intimidated?

The sense of the poster in the middle school is don’t be intimidated by what cool kids have or do, or how they look.

“You have your own thing to do. Be the kid who can get along; who is happy, generous, and happy for others. Be the kid who does the right thing; be the nice kid.” (Minion Quotes)

Well, that advice works for us old kids, too.

Intimidation is a reaction that still sweeps over me –not when I look at what others have or do, but when I look in a mirror.

How did I get so old so fast?

Although most days I feel like the same person I was fifty years ago, getting old is apt to happen if you keep breathing and showing up for meals, Peg Bracken observed. (On Getting Old for the First Time, p. 11)

No matter old the mirror tells me I am, though, I still have my own thing to do. However achy and creaky the body is, I still have my own thing to do:

 Try not to be intimidated by all I see and  lack.

Don’t Be Intimidated

Even at my age and stage I am unfinished – and God willing, I am changing; just as I wish others keep changing and growing.  Maybe I should stop wishing and start praying?

Because as long as I have a pulse, I have a purpose. The purpose is not letting what-if’s bully me into a blob. My purpose is living in this moment, accepting life, and people, on their own terms.

Change what I can, as I can, and remember God did not die and leave me in charge. Nor, did He disappear – or forsake me. So, I have a hope, a real shot, at getting along with others. I can be happy, generous, and useful because God stays close. (Psalm 73:23) His grace even helps me when I don’t know what to do, or don’t have the strength to do be a nice kid.

God doesn’t give us hypothetical grace in lifetime supply. He gives us what we need today-one day at a time. ~ Tim Keller