Turning 30

Thirty.

This month I turn thirty.

Wow.

Being one of the youngest among my peers, I have watched how each of them has handled this chapter of their life over the past couple of years.  And now it is my turn.  In less than 27 days I too will join the ranks of the “thirty-somethings.”

Having somewhat successfully navigated through the potential for a quarter-life crisis that I saw many people of my generation go through, I look back at the past 30 years of my life and I am amazed.  I am amazed at the vast experiences I’ve been through and can only wonder what life for me in these next years will look like.

I will admit that there are some things about turning 30 that are a little depressing.  Just a short search on google about the special “age of thirty” can suck the life out of you! For instance, did you know that at age 30, you’re older than 42 percent of Americans.  Crazy!  But then again, it has seemed that all my life I have been looking forward to the day I could say that “I’m thirty.”  I don’t know why?  Maybe because of what the age “30” has represented to me in different ways.

• David became king at the age of 30.
• Jesus began his earthly ministry at around 30.
• Bill Gates made $234 million at age 30.

Random info – I know – but info that has been stuck in my head as I approached turning 30.  I guess if I was being completely honest, the thing that scares me the most is not that I am getting older.  It’s more of the fact that I am now living in the beginning of some of the most important years of my life.  This is about more than my career and calling as a pastor.

It’s about a relationship with my wife that has moved out of the era of what some call “the honeymoon stage” and how I continue to nurture and care for that relationship. It’s about the two new lives I brought into this world in my 20’s and am now partnering with my wife to lead and guide.  Turning 30, to me, represents so much opportunity.  It’s taking all the lessons I learned in my 20’s and putting them into use, and I am so excited to get “there.”

For those of you who have navigated your 30’s, what advice would you have for me?