Last year was John's fortieth class reunion. Next year is mine. I used to think I was marrying an Older Man, because I was twenty four whole months newer than him.  Now it feels like a blip in time.

We went out for dinner with a couple we knew back in high school, that we used to sing with as if there was no tomorrow. In the past four decades we hardly ever saw them. That made the discrepancy between then and now more stark. I am not as surprised by John's white beard as they might be. But I was taken aback by how time has weathered our friend. 

There are physical and mental challenges that make their life very difficult. I wondered about the wear and tear on their marriage. 

If someone had tried to warn the four of us back in 1975 to seize the day because our youth was as ephemeral as the wind, I would have laughed and kept singing. Because the world was my oyster and our bodies had not yet been hammered enough to complain. 

It seems rather arbitrary, who stays relatively healthy and who smacks up against cancer or dementia. One man from my class can barely stand erect, his back is so contorted. He sure didn't let his spine slow him down in his teenage years. Others have dealt with the death of their child, or a string of surgeries. 

Were it not for my relationship with God I would probably throw in the towel. Hardship is fickle, and strikes without warning. Yet in my heart of hearts, I believe that all of the struggles are irrelevant. It is our response that is cast in porcelain. The kiln to transform us from soggy clay to fine china has all manner of fire. It is for us to allow ourselves to be molded into a shape worthy of the Potter. 

Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand. Jeremiah 18