There is Still
Life - Guest Liz Curtis-Higgs
Via (in)courage
The IF:Gathering in Austin .
I know how I got there — a car, a
plane, and an airport shuttle — but I wasn’t sure how I got there. How
I ended up at a weekend event with two thousand women younger than me. Much
younger. My daughter’s age. Even younger.
Oh my.
I looked around the crowded theater, trying not to be
totally intimidated by the skinny jeans and tall boots and thick hair. All
around me, beautiful sisters in Christ leaned in to soak up God’s Word, then
laid down their burdens to lift their hands in praise.
These young women came to do serious business with God.
Their sincerity touched me. Their devotion humbled me.
Their compassion inspired me.
If you’ve ever fretted about the future of the Church,
relax. God’s got this - - For our generation and the next generation and the
one after that. And all the rest, until He comes.
In the closing minutes of the conference, we were asked
to write a word on a rock, indicating our next step of faith. I found a Sharpie
and wrote Still, not entirely sure what that was about. Be still?
Stand still? Still the One?
Several of us were invited to share our words and what
they meant. I said yes, because that’s my M.O., but then I kinda panicked. For
the first time in my speaking career, I stood in front of a microphone having no
idea what I was going to say.
“My name is Liz.” Seemed a safe place to begin.
“And my word is ‘Still.’” A short pause.
You want me to
say what, Lord?
I swallowed hard. “I am 60 and I am silver and I am
supersized and I am still a Jesus Girl.”
Their applause helped me find the courage to say the
rest. “I came here to see if that was still true. And I prayed, sitting way up
there in the last row, ‘Lord, do I still have something to give?’”
I looked at the bright-eyed girls sitting in front of me,
and said, “Because if I don’t have something to give, then you will be
scared about getting older.”
I saw it in their faces. The joy of youth mingled
with the fear of what’s next.
Now, I knew why God brought me there.
“I want to tell you, if you’re looking at 30 and you’re
scared, you still got it. If you’re looking at 40 and you’re scared, you still
got it.” My voice grew stronger, as I held out my rock. “If you’re 50, 60, 70, 80, God STILL has something for you to do for the Kingdom.”
He does, beloved. Something you are uniquely called and
equipped to do.
When we’re young, we imagine life will be like a bell
curve. We’ll climb upward, enjoy being on top of our game for a few years, then
steadily decline, until we quietly slip out of sight.
That’s not at all what God has in mind. Our life
in Christ and our service to Him is ever ascending, moving forward and upward,
gaining strength and momentum. “Therefore we
do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we
are being renewed day by day” {2
Corinthians 4:16}.
The Holy Spirit never weakens, wearies, ages, or
atrophies. No way. He renews, refreshes, builds up, and fills up. As our love
for the Lord increases and our knowledge of His Word deepens, we have more
to offer the body of Christ, not less.
That’s why Paul urges us to press on, show up, keep going. “Forgetting what is behind and staining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus” {Philippians
3:13-14}.
Whatever the date of birth on our driver’s license, God
has work for us to do. Still.
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1 comment:
This goes straight to my heart! I love this line: "I looked at the bright-eyed girls sitting in front of me, and said, “Because if I don’t have something to give, then you will be scared about getting older.” - so totally awesome!
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