A good friend of mine resides in Hull, Massachusetts. It’s a completely different environment than the residence of my New England town. Hull is a quaint beach town that’s filled with little boutique shops on a boardwalk that overlooks the Atlantic shoreline. In my mind, it’s the perfect summer weekend getaway to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. My friend feels that this lovely little place is no longer a good fit for her goals. She thinks it’s not the kind of place where she can expect to meet someone new, especially now that she’s retired, divorced and ready to find love again. “I’m 64 years old.” She said. “Everyone around my age that comes here is usually already coupled up. I’m thinking of moving where I have more options.”
Many of her friends are retiring from their jobs as well. They’re moving to warmer climates to start reaping the benefits of years of hard work and supporting their families. Those that are married, have been for decades, so when they hear my friend say that she wants to find love again, they’re skeptical and not supportive. They tell her she’s wasting her time. She’s heard it all before, the proverbial pessimistic belief that men her age are either dead or too old and stuck in their ways to make a good partner. I told her that if she has a dream in her heart, and God is in it, there’s no reason He wouldn’t bless her to meet someone new. She just has to have faith.
Her dilemma reaffirms a truth that I learned a while ago, and it’s that you have to be careful who you share your dreams with. Not everyone will want to see you succeed and very few will provide the Godly encouragement that helps to increase your faith.
Listening to society, a mature woman might say to herself, “I don’t know what I’m thinking, men my age want younger women.” Rejection can crush anyone’s spirit, especially when we live in a society that is so driven by appearance, youth, and status. But we can’t let those things into our heads and hearts. God told His prophet, Samuel, in 1Samuel 16:7(NLT) “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” This is what God tells us. This is what HE pays attention to. He looks at the heart, and if it works for Him, it must work for us.
God blesses according to what is in our hearts, and He’s the One that causes two hearts to be knit together in His love. So, we shouldn’t pay attention to what society and others say. We must focus all our attention on God. Psalm 37:4(ESV) tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
To delight ourselves in the Lord is to continually affirm our faith in Him. This is especially important when someone tells us that something isn’t possible. God put His stamp of approval on us when we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives. It’s Him we need to be concerned with pleasing, not the standards of this world.
We have to remind ourselves that the love and faith that we hold in our hearts are jewels to God. We are never too old to dream, and a dream that we are committed to hold in faith regarding God’s willingness and ability to bless us means more to Him than it does to us. He wants to see our dreams, aspirations and the fruition of our prayers come to pass. Abraham and Sarah proved that age is not a factor when it comes to the favor, power, and blessings of our God. Age showcases His extraordinary glory and grace. It demonstrates that nothing can keep Him from blessing us when we are fully persuaded in our faith in His love. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
“Never Too Old to Dream”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!