We’re told that life is for the young, that youth is everything and that after that it’s downhill.

For me, that really doesn’t seem to fit. Yes, I enjoyed my earlier years, but I’m enjoying my current ones as well. Life was more contingent in those days, and frankly that was a bad thing. There was a lot of doubt about whether things would work out in a variety of areas.

– What job would I do in life? Would it be in an exciting and interesting part of the world? Would I enjoy going to work on a Monday morning?
– Would I ever find someone to marry – would they be beautiful and with great character, and would we still be deeply in love years after our wedding day?
– Would I still have my Christian faith or would I have given up?
– Would I still have my student debt and little in the bank?
– Would I still have my health, and be active?
– Would I be a father?
– Would I own my own home?

The answer to all those questions is that things worked out really well (atheist readers might disagree, lol). If life is a roll of the dice, then from my position it looks like one die after another has come out at a high number. That’s not to be self-satisfied, and certainly not to think ‘that must be because I’m great’, but I’ve a huge amount to be thankful for. From the perspective of life here on earth, things didn’t seem a forgone conclusion. Doing a history degree, doesn’t seem like a sensible career choice. My first 28 years of life didn’t really set-up the promise that dating would actually lead anywhere. Yes temporarily life can be pretty dull away from the family, but that’s a short blip soon to be resolved, let’s hope.