Before I begin, I want to thank the Urbana Yoke Parish congregation for their amazing Christmas gift. Your generosity and love humbles me. Now, to the blog.

And, poof, I am turning 65.

         I am not sure how that happened, really. When I was much, much younger, 65 seemed really old. I guess I am really old now. Some days I feel like it, other days, not so much. But there is one word that sums it all up.

         Wow.

         For the last week or so I have been kind of reflective. Looking back over the years and remembering all sorts of things. I am blessed with this strange kind of memory that allows me to retain all sorts of information, although now a days I would be hard pressed to tell you what I had for supper last night. I don’t remember everything. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, things like that get away from me. But other things are as clear as they can be. I was three when I first met Kevin, Keith and Karen Marty. Kevin was five, Keith was three and Karen was one. Keith was best man at my wedding years later, Karen was always like my little sister and Kevin was a big brother. But I remember with clarity that very first meeting!

         So, when I say I have been reflective, remembering things, I mean literally reliving moments in time. And folks, I have to tell you, it has been a great life!

         Sure, there are things I would change if I could. I wouldn’t be a divorced man at 65, for one thing. But that is something that I could not help and still do not fully understand. Never wanted it, but it happened. However, the vast portion of my life has been one adventure after another. Not Indiana Jones adventures, but Larry Wade adventures.

For instance, how many people can say they have lived in the mountains, near the ocean, on the shores of one of the Great Lakes and in the flat lands of Indiana? How many preachers have preached in front of five people and in front of five hundred? Or, how many preachers have spoken at national conferences? How many people have worked in the Little Debbie factory? That was really an adventure. How many have been in both a hurricane and a tornado in their vehicles? Marsha was driving when we got caught in the tornado and that made that adventure even more adventurous. I have held the hands of a dozen people as they passed from this earth and I held one little girl in my arms as she died. You could say that being that close to death wasn’t an adventure, but just knowing that the last thing they felt on this earth was my hand and the first thing they felt in heaven was the hand of God…..yes, that is an adventure!

Remember when you were a kid and you had to go on those Sunday afternoon rides with the folks? You didn’t really want to go, but there always seemed to be something interesting. That has been my 65 years. Always some new and amazing thing just around the corner. Marsha said one time, maybe ten years ago, that it hadn’t always been fun, but it had never been boring.

The last 45 years of the 65 have belonged to the Lord. In the course of the ministry, I have been allowed to witness some remarkable things. I say ‘allowed’ because it is as though God has punched a special ticket for me. I am not talking financial blessings. I am talking Spiritual blessings. Sunrise Services with the sounds of crashing surf at the foot of the cliff. Sunrise Services in a quiet cemetery with just the birds to give music as the sun comes up. Which was the most beautiful? Both, in their own breathtaking way. Baptizing people in a church baptistry or in a quiet pond or in a running river or in a pounding surf. Of those, which was more heart stirring? All of them. There have been instances of leading people to the Lord on their death beds. There have been times of taking guns out of the hands of people intent on either harming one of my congregation or harming their own selves. Once I had a gun pointed at me and told not to preach on a particular subject. And once, inevitably, a gun was fired at my head and I felt the bullet flash past my face. It seems there has been more diversity in my ministry than any other pastor I have ever met.

Oh, and the people! From the loving, compassionate and thoughtful to the crazy types who talk to their fists to the absolute evil people who stalk the earth doing the works of Satan. All of them, regardless, needed Jesus. There have been many who shared laughter, and many who shared tears. Once in preparation for the funeral of a member of my congregation, the next of kin, a nephew, told me he didn’t want any religious mumbo jumbo. I put in as much religious mumbo jumbo as I could. His aunt had been an awesome Christian and I wanted to tell people. So many precious people have been in my life! Two of those precious people are my son and his wife. Adam is a solid young man (who is turning forty soon!) and Kimberly is a gentle soul, almost fairy like. (She is also a hugger. We had to work through that.) God has blessed me beyond imagination.

And there have always been challenges. God created in me a love of challenges. What is the point to life without a challenge? God also created in me the need to go into each challenge with prayer. What is the point to the challenge if you go it alone? You will fail. As Larry Wade, I have failed. As Jesus and Larry Wade, with Him holding me up, we have done some really cool things.

Turning 65 is not all sweetness. I have some physical limitations. But the passion for the Word of God has grown. The genuineness of His majesty fills my spirit. The peace that passes all understanding has become more and more pronounced in my heart. If we go back to that illustration of going on the Sunday drive with the folks; the drive was pretty good, but as we neared the end we would stop at an ice cream stand in the country and get a cone. That is where I am in my life, the best part of the drive.

What happens next? I honestly don’t know. Retire? I can’t see that. I don’t even like vacations. I suppose at some point I will not be able to go on physically or mentally, but I am not to that point yet. Am I? Hmmm. If I was not able to go on mentally, I wouldn’t necessarily know. Someone is going to have to keep an eye on me! I can tell you that as long as the Lord wants to use me and will continue on this journey with me, I want to keep on. The future is in His hands.

But hey! I am turning 65! Except for a few really rough moments, it has been great. And it isn’t over! There are challenges to be had, ministry to accomplish, people to mess with. And, when no one is looking, cookies to eat.

I know a lady. She was born on January 16^th and I was born on the 17^th but I was born 10 years earlier. She was about to turn 40 and I was about to turn 50. She referred to ‘milestone’ birthdays. Turning 10, 16, 18, 21. Good milestones. But then 30 had not been a good milestone and 40 was going to be awful. She said each milestone birthday was like opening a new door to another room in a house you were looking to buy. The first new rooms were great, but then the house started to look shabby. A couple of days before her big 4-0, we sat and talked about it. She was weepy and blue. I tried to lift her up, but it wasn’t happening. After she left, I pondered the visit. You are either going to grow older or you are going to die. Those are the choices. If you pass through a door and the next room looks a little worn, get some paint or hang some curtains. It is your room! Live in it!

It has been pretty cool. It has been made that way by the people along the way. So, thank you all. May God bless you as richly as He has blessed me.