Getting on with life

Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays. “Snail mail” requests for prayer may be sent to him at the church at 4881 E. Hwy. 34, Sharpsburg, GA 30277. E-mail requests may be sent to frepps@ctkcec.org.

By Father DAVID EPPS
Contributing Writer

I had a birthday recently.

In fact, Martin Luther King, Jr., and I share the same birthday, Jan. 15, although not the same year. I was born in 1951, King in 1929. But, along with John Honeycutt, my first cousin, we share the day that is now a national holiday.

I'm not particularly sensitive about my age, even though I look much older than I really am. At church a few weeks ago, a gentlemen and I were discussing the ravages and perils of age. A lady walked by, overheard bits and pieces of the conversation and interjected, "Oh, Father David, you don't look THAT much older than Russ!"

I am 54. Russ is 70. It's the mileage.

The kids selling tickets at the movie theater don't even ask me if I qualify (which I don't) for the "senior discount" when I ask for a ticket. They just give it to me. I had someone ask me a few months back if Cindy was my second wife, since "she is so much younger than you." For the record, no, I have had only one wife for over 33 years and, yes, she is younger but only by 11 months.

I gave consideration to coloring my hair, which is white, and made the mistake of sharing that thought with my sons. The shrieks and gales of laughter and guffawing from these alleged adults caused me to table that decision. I also thought about getting a Harley-Davidson but discovered that the price that my wife would exact was too high to pay right now. I thought about having a mid-life crisis, but I decided that I didn't really have the time or the energy.

I am starting to feel my age, though. I played what I trust will be my last game of church league softball last spring and it took me 10 days to recover. In the last two years, I have had four surgeries, if you count the ingrown toenail I had removed this month. Hey, if they use needles and knives, and blood is shed, it's surgery as far as I am concerned!

My oldest son suggested recently that we sell our house, which has two stories plus a finished basement, and buy a "ranch-style" home which has only a ground floor.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, Dad, you aren't getting any younger and this house has a lot of stairs."

As he spoke, a country song played in my head which said, "I'm much too young to feel this @&%$ old."

When my wife and I moved to this area almost 22 years ago, we had a 5th grader, a 3rd grader, and a two-year-old. Now we have seven grandchildren and three daughters-in-law. Twenty-two years ago, a member of my board complained that "we have a child as our pastor." Now, I am the substitute father for young adults and the surrogate grandfather for kids in the church whose extended families reside elsewhere. Now, I almost easily and automatically have the respect that I so desperately craved when I was a younger man but it doesn't seem to matter to me as much as I thought it would.

For most of my life, I concentrated on what I wanted to do, to accomplish, and now, it seems, I am thinking more about what I can leave that will be enduring. I'm not fighting getting older; I wouldn't go back to high school for a million bucks. Who needs all those hormones, the rejection, the zits, and the awkwardness?

But I am much more acutely aware of time than in the past. None of us knows the number of our days and the Bible says that we should encounter each new day as a gift from the Divine One, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24).

There is much to rejoice about, this is certain. This month, a granddaughter turned 10 and a grandson 9. We had a party at our home and how marvelous it was to see the excitement and the energy in their eyes. This past year, I have seen my two older sons advance in their careers and my youngest son complete his military service and get married.

We have a vision to plant 20 churches before I am 65 years old and we have 17 churches to go. At our own church, we need to add people and programs, and facilities, so I do have much to keep me occupied.ÊI have no intention of retiring and "doing what I want to do," because I am doing what I want to do right now. There's more to do and "miles to go before I sleep."

Still, each year, I can't help but reflect that another year has past and that another tick has sounded on my life's clock. As a child, I thought that my Dad would live forever. He didn't and neither will I, so I want the remaining days to matter.

Someone once asked, "What do you think was the best day of your life?" The person being asked the question, unhesitatingly answered, "Tomorrow!"

I believe that, too. Another year has passed. Another tick on the clock has sounded. Enough musing. Let's get on with life.