Not a great time to be pregnant ....

In recent months we have learned that we will become grandparents (for the first time!) and that our first grandchild will be a grandson! All really great news.

Recently as I was reading about the events surrounding the birth of Moses, I thought of the moms and dads, the parents, the grandparents and how they processed all of the tragedy and drama during those days.

First, the Hebrew midwives were instructed to kill any male children born, but the bible tells us that they "feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do ...". Having to answer for their defiance they told the king that the Hebrew women gave birth before they could arrive and carry out the order to kill the child.

So, then the situation worsened when Pharaoh instructed his own people throw every boy that is born into the Nile, but let every girl live.

What was that like? I can only imagine that there was an exodus of sorts out of Egypt by those who did not want to comply. Families that had rejoiced over the news of the pregnancy, had fretted over the growth of the little one, had coddled and pampered the mom to be .... what would they do now? How many babies were actually hidden from Pharaoh? How many people left the country and lived with family in other places until this storm passed over?

We know in the midst of this that Moses was born, was hidden and then adopted in the very family of Pharaoh himself; God had other plans for the life of this little one.

In my mind I fast forward to the time of Christ. Another jealous, fearful king. Another edict. Another exodus; this time to Egypt, not out of Egypt. A murderous king of this world had plans to rid himself of a perceived rival, but God had other plans for the life of this little one.

Staying Alive

Last week I celebrated my birthday ... something I normally enjoy doing, but this year gave me a bit of  a pause. I turned 55 this year and in my mind that is very close to 60 and for some reason I am afraid of 60. So, as I inch closer, I am not excited. Sadly I have a friend who did not make it to his 55th birthday. I know others near my age that have suffered from strokes and blood clots and other very serious things already.

But, then I decided that my focus was wrong. I need to look at what I am doing at 55 that I wasn't doing before or what kinds of things I have done so that I can make a strong showing at 60 and at 65 and at 70 and so on....

In 2007 I decided that life was catching up with me and if I didn't do something drastic, I was in for some real trouble. I joined Weight Watchers (good people) and over time lost about 60 pounds. That is a good thing. As a result of the encouragement from WW, my wife and I started buying "workout clothes" and we started walking on a regular basis. Since 2007 we have spent several hundred dollars on good shoes and have walked hundreds of miles. 

I began running some and working out with some friends and got to the point where I entered a half marathon. I could never have done that before. I have climbed South Sister, the third highest peak in Oregon, twice .... you can read about that in another blog post. In the past I have done P90X workouts and am doing them again with my new son-in-law. 

Perhaps the crowning achievement to this point was that my wife and I walked the Camino de Santiago this last fall; 500 miles walking across Spain. For us it was a 42 day trek; challenging and rewarding both. I could have never done that a few years ago. 

So, am I getting older? For sure .... but can I keep going, keep pushing, keep doing what I can do to be as healthy as I can be? Yes, because no one is going to do it for me. I am responsible for me. 

I think I remember that from my kindergarten teacher!