What I’ve Learned From Another Year of Life

By John Kuykendall

It’s hard to believe that today I will celebrate another birthday, if not wanting to admit I’m yet another year older is celebrating.
Over the years I’ve heard all the clichés… “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better,” or that really dreaded one, “You’re only as old as you feel.”
Well, let’s address the first one. I’m not sure how anyone can consider waking up every day with aches and pains, having your eyesight getting worse, having people yell at you because you can’t hear them and plenty of trips to the rest room an idea of “getting better.”
As for how old I feel, trust me: if I was as old as I felt I would need to be put out to pasture or – in the worse case scenario – “put down.”
Looking back on life there are some lessons I’ve learned that might be helpful to someone who dreads reaching, what’s the term, “being over the hill.”
One of the things I’ve learned is that I can’t blame everything on getting old. Maybe the vision, hearing and bathroom trip issues, but the aches and pains are, at the very least questionable.
As a child I loved to play sports like most boys, liked to climb trees, hunt, fish and do all those things boys like to do. Also, like most boys and men, over the years I abused and neglected my body. So, the lesson I’ve learned is, if I could go back in time I would take better care of my body. Just a little advice to you younger folks out there.
Another lesson I’ve learned in life is that we all determine how we will be remembered. We can be remembered as a person with character, values, being caring, being giving, or as a worthless scoundrel (bad person).
I’ve learned that family and friends are something to be grateful for and valued. It is important to let people know we care for and about them.
I’ve learned to be a little more patient and understanding. I guess you could say as we age we learn to have more empathy for others.
Over the years, I’ve learned that we are going to face challenges, and the best way to deal with those challenges is by facing them head on and realizing that life is not, and never will be, easy.
I’ve learned that we must adapt to change. Change is inevitable and it’s going to happen. We can either embrace it or fight it, but just know that it’s going to happen no matter what we do.
Over the years I’ve made plenty of mistakes. I’ve also learned that once a mistake has been made you must learn from it, move on, and not make that mistake again.
This page would probably not hold the words for all the things I’ve learned from growing older. So, I’m going to leave you with the most important thing I’ve learned.
Man is judgemental and can be cruel. Our Saviour, however, is ever forgiving. The most important thing I’ve learned is to always remember that God is still in control and is always right there with me no matter what life throws at me. He knows where we have been, what we are going through and what is in our future.
Simply put, the most important lesson I’ve learned in life is to trust God not man, be loving, caring and giving to everyone (especially family) and to never look back and always look forward.
Life is not easy, but it is what we make it.