The numbers are piling up. Today I arrived at 68, and the label “middle sixties” has evaporated (not to mention “middle age”). I’m officially pushing 70. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I know plenty of septuagenarians who are still in the thick of life, and every month I read fresh stories of 70+ successes (when my AARP magazine arrives).

All in all, 68 doesn’t bother me. I don’t think 70 will either, because our length of days isn’t up to us.

God makes that call, and our part is to live each day to his prescribed fullest, no matter what the year. None of us understand why some people live to 100 and others die in infancy.

For example, my dad had two brothers, surprise-twins born in 1910. The first was named William, and in looking for a second boy-name, my grandparents glanced at that morning’s newspaper. King Edward of England was in the headlines, so baby #2 became Edward.

William lived only 20 months, dying of pneumonia. Edward lived 94 years. This seems out of kilter, but God doesn’t usually disclose the reasons for his calendar decisions. That’s probably because we wouldn’t understand them (or agree with them) anyway.

All of us wonder how long we’ll live and which birthday cake will be our last. If I reach my 90’s as both of my parents did, I’ll be hanging around for 25 more years, an astounding thought that’s not necessarily all good. As Mom said, “Life after 90 is full of troubles.” She meant physically, but included in that are emotional and relational troubles, too.

The Bible says the same thing as Mom did, but a little differently, insisting that troubles begin in earnest after 70, not 90. We can say, “Oh that isn’t true these days. Fifty is the new 30, and 70 is the new 50!”

Maybe.

The foundational truth about growing old, however, is that we’re to do it gracefully and in God’s way. Scripture assures us that if we’re still alive, it’s because he wants us to be, and if he wants us to be (no matter our age), it’s because he’s got valuable things for us yet to do. Thinking like this changes age-related stereotypes, giving us purpose and direction for each day. That even goes for life in a hospital bed or a wheelchair.

God never sidelines anybody. Each one is valuable to him whether that person lives to 100 or dies in the womb before a birth date can get on the calendar. And those troubles that come after 70? Or 90? If we ask God how he wants us to travel through them, circumstances will defy logic and produce good things.

So…. No matter how many candles are on the cake, it can always be a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

“You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set.” (Psalm 119:4-5  The Message)