AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

To be 70 years young is sometimes far better than to be 40 years old.

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”

Proverbs 16:31

I’m in my seventies now, and that sounds very old.  In my mind, however, I don’t feel that old at all.

My body will remind me of my chronological age when I go to do something I always used to do without giving it a second thought.  Like getting up off the floor.  Yikes!  When did that get to be so difficult?  How about running up or down the stairs?  Or skipping!  I used to love to skip, but now my legs wonder what the heck I’m trying to do!  It’s incredible to me how the physical body slowly and subtly changes as it ages, taking you somewhat by surprise.  There’s truth to the phrase “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Sometimes I’m disappointed by my physical limitations when they occur because my mind tells me I’m still in my thirties and I can do anything!  But physical limitations aside, I have decided that the 30-year-old mindset is the one I will go with.  I am not too old!

When I decided to take the plunge and begin doing this blog, I ran into all kinds of difficulties in trying to build the blog website.

I’m not a technophobe, so I wasn’t afraid to make an attempt to build the website on my own. But the more obstacles I encountered, the more I heard this little voice in my head telling me I was too old to be trying to build a website on my own, and that I was going to make a fool of myself.

 If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you learn to listen for that “still, small voice” within you, giving you direction and guidance.  But there’s another voice that will pop into your head which you learn to recognize as being from the enemy of your soul, the devil.  He tries to discourage you from making any progress in your life—especially if you’re trying to accomplish something for the Kingdom of God, as I was trying to do with my plans for an inspirational blog. 

Do you remember in those old cartoons when an angel would appear on one of the character’s shoulders, and a devil would appear on the other shoulder, each whispering to the character what to do?

Well, those two voices we hear are kind of like that, and we need to learn to discern which voice is speaking.  God’s voice is never pushy but is quiet, gentle, and corrective.  The devil’s voice is pushy, and condemning, accusatory, and discouraging as well.  The better you know God’s voice, the quicker you can recognize the enemy’s voice and reject his lies.  I knew he was trying to deceive me into thinking I couldn’t do this blog, so I had to rebuff his words and counter them with the truth from Scripture: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Another area where the devil has been trying to discourage me is developing an online virtual assistant business.

Around the same time I decided to create my blog, I had the opportunity to enroll in the Kingdom Virtual Assistant School to fulfill another dream:  to have my own online virtual assistant business. As a virtual assistant, I’ll support entrepreneurs online by taking administrative tasks off their plates, allowing them more time to focus on taking care of their clients and growing their businesses.  The Kingdom VA School teaches not only how to start a virtual assistant business, but how to run it God’s way, from a Kingdom perspective. I have dreamed of doing this since 2009 but never seriously got around to it. 

Starting a virtual assistant business while in my seventies was even more of a stretch for me than starting an inspirational blog, and that little accusatory voice started up in my head again, only stronger.

That voice shouted out, “Are you crazy?  Starting a business at your age?  Everyone will think you are nuts!  Forget about it.  You’ve put it off all these years—why in the world start now?  YOU ARE TOO OLD!” 

This voice was tough to overlook, so much so that I didn’t tell anyone (except my husband) that I was going to school to become a certified virtual assistant.  I was sure I would be met with legitimate objections regarding my age.  No, I couldn’t tell anyone and risk hearing those objections.  Who starts a business when they’re in their mid-seventies?  That’s when you should be retired and taking it easy.

But there was another voice in me encouraging me to keep going.  That voice said I was not too old at all, that I would enjoy being a virtual assistant and, in fact, could be very successful if I didn’t quit.

So, I didn’t quit.  I recently passed my final exam and am now a Certified Kingdom Virtual Assistant.  I have many next steps to starting my new business, including building another website (!!), but I know I can do this.  I want to do this!  By the way, when I finally plucked up the courage to tell my sons and a few others about starting a VA business, the news was met with great joy and pride at how I was pursuing my dream and not letting age stand in my way.

The Bible doesn’t say anything about our retiring and taking it easy.  God wants us to keep bearing fruit for His kingdom, utilizing the different ways He’s designed and gifted us. He desires for us to be fully engaged in life until He calls us home to Heaven.

None of this feels like work to me at all—in fact, it’s quite enjoyable.

I want to bring glory to God through my blog and VA business.  And I want to inspire other older women to know that they too can start a blog or start their own business or whatever is in their hearts.  It’s never too late to pursue the dream God has placed in your heart, and with His help, you’re never too old to go out there and do it!