Fab '4D'!



4D.

That's four...count 'em 4 decades!

Forty years on this earth is nothing to sneeze at. I think most people would agree that this is the "halfway point" for life expectancy these days. Maybe more, or maybe less. But it feels about right.

I used to think 40 was ancient. And then I turned 30 and 35 and then 39. Now that I'm on the brink of turning that BIG number, it feels like I blinked my eyes and here I am.

When I reach back into my memories to my earliest days and then take a saunter along the years, it does feel like I have done a lot of living.

Graduations, moves, marriage, babies, grief and loss, travel, mortgage, career paths, epic friendship...I've packed a lot in these last four decades.

When I string it out like that, then 40 looms as significant.

But it unlike the 20 year old version of myself, I no longer think that it's ancient. Over. Washed up. Finito.

Over. the. hill.

If anything, I feel like at 40, I'm just finally cresting that hill...the one of self-doubt, insecurity, body image issues, and worry. I feel like I have learned to move beyond those things and maybe for the first time ever I am sitting comfortable in my own skin.

I love this feeling.

And, so...I decided. There will be no black-themed parties for me. There will be no "over the hill" cards and quiet acceptance of mid-life crises.

Instead, I'm going to kick 40's butt!

How, you ask?

I have this wonderfully delicious plan to intentionally plan out events, trip, goals and dreams that I want to accomplish in this next year of my life. I want to arrive at 41 breathless and in awe of all that I heard, saw and did.

I want to celebrate this crazy, wonderful life I'm living -- to set down some tangible markers of my intent to embrace the next 40 with wild abandon.

And here's what I plan to do:
  • Take a reunion trip with my girls that I laughed and lived with in Belgium
  • Create a logo with "Fab 4D" on it that I can put on stuff and wear it loud and proud
  • Similarly create an Instagram hashtag of the same catchphrase to capture all of the 4D goodness
  • Run another half-marathon
  • Make a trek up to Redding, CA and visit Bethel Church and do a sozo
  • Go to Tanzania
  • Sky dive
  • Climb Half Dome
  • Finally learn how to play my guitar
  • Write a novel
  • Go to an "epic concert" -- hopefully U2 or Coldplay or one of my faves
  • Adventure more and in more places
  • Attend a writer's conference...maybe the one at Mount Hermon in the Spring
....and anything else that comes my way. I am looking forward to expanding my list as inspiration strikes.

I have a feeling that I will be delightfully surprised by opportunities that seem to "fall into my lap" this next year. I plan to walk through it with open arms and enjoy the journey.

And even more than doing the actual events, it matters to me that I do them with the people I love the most and who have been there for me all along the way. And so I want to run that half-marathon with Gina and Robin (two of my past running partners). I want to climb Half Dome with my sister. I want to go to Tanzania with my husband and revel in the blessing that he loves it there as much as I do.

The journey through is as important as the milestone. And I love that one of those "Belgium Babes" that I just saw this past weekend (yes, I've checked one off the list already!), gave me this necklace that I'm wearing right now as a wonderful reminder.



Joy in the journey, indeed.

It occurred to me today, as I was thinking about my list, that at the end of this year, I'm going to have quite the bevy of photographs. In fact, one might even call them a "mosaic" of my year of 40! And so, I am adding to the list:
  • Make Pinterest-y type of mosaic craft that showcases my "Year of 4D" experience
See how I added something to my list already? I love that...

And I found my jam for this year too! Mandisa's song, "Overcomer" is a fist-pumping jewel of a tune that gets my blood pumping every time.




Here are some of the awesome inspiring lyrics:



You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
'Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer



The same Man, the Great I am
The one who overcame death
Is living inside of You
So just hold tight, fix your eyes
On the one who holds your life
There's nothing He can't do
He's telling You

So, yeah. I am an overcomer. I will overcome a date on the calendar that has made many people's blood run cold. I will overcome the voice in my head that tells me to roll over and hit snooze instead of getting up and running. I'm going to overcome that nagging sense of failure because here I am at 40 with no career to speak of but plenty of finger print stains on the wall and a lot of dishes in the sink. I am going to tell that lie where it can go.

Forty is nothing to fear.

Rather, 40 should fear me!

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