Every year at about this time, I think a little more seriously about a topic that interests everyone but concerns only those who have reached certain age plateaus. The topic is "getting older." The reason I think about it at this time of year is that I celebrate another year of life during April.

The interesting thing about this aging process is that each of us faces the same inescapable prospect, yet we all handle it differently. It all depends on our perspective.

Our lifetime passes quickly, as the writer of Psalm 90 pointed out so bluntly (v.10). Because that is true, we need the kind of attitude poet Robert Browning displayed when he wrote, "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made." Life is cumulative, Browning was saying, and each of our days is a foundation for tomorrow.

For us to use those days properly, we need to develop a positive outlook on the passage of time. In Psalm 90, we learn that a correct view of life includes a search for wisdom (v.12), a dependence on God's mercy (v.14), and a request for God's favor (v.17). As we maintain this perspective, we will enjoy the passage of time.  — Dave Branon