So I’m getting older, yes it’s official and I’m ok with that (most of the time) but I am realising that as you get older it can appear that choices are less obvious and your options seem to be restricted.
However, I’ve been realising that isn’t the case when it comes to what really matters, your attitude, your outlook and your perspective.
I think there are 3 C’s we each choose to be as we get older and I know which of the 3 I want to be!
The first C is….CLOSED…we act like we know all there is to know and anything new must be bad and resisted at all costs.
The second C is…CYNICAL…this is often the precursor to being closed. It usually takes a grip because we’ve been around a bit, seen it all before, got hurt a few times and now we are afraid to dream, to reach, to stretch, to believe for anything beyond what we’ve experienced.
The third C is the one I want to be….CURIOUS….to be eager to know, to explore, to learn, it means you are inquisitive.
Whether you have faith or not, curiosity is something worth choosing and worth fighting for.
Albert Einstein famously said, ‘Never lose a holy curiosity.’
Could curiosity be holy, sacred, divine?
Interestingly, there’s a character in the Bible called Nicodemus. He was a spiritual leader but unlike the other leaders around him he hadn’t allowed himself to get cynical or closed in fact he was curious.
So much so that he sought Jesus out at night to ask questions, to explore, to stay open, he was inquisitive.
Nicodemus in some parts of the world is known as the patron saint of spiritual curiosity. What a title, I’d love to be known for that!
Some ancient wisdom from King Solomon that’s so true whether you have faith or not,
‘Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.’ Prov 4 v.32 NIV
If your heart is closed or cynical that flows out into your outlook, your words, your hopes, your relationships. But if your heart is curious, you stay open, flexible and that too flows out into everything you do.
So how do we stay CURIOUS?
#1 – Ask more questions than you give answers
Curious people know they don’t know all the answers and even if they do they stay open because they want to grow and learn. In all your interactions this week ask questions…‘that’s so interesting, tell me more…..not sure I’m aware of that, explain it to me….how does that work…?’
If Jesus himself asked so many questions why don’t we? Could it be we haven’t chosen the right C to be? Stay CURIOUS
#2 – Say ‘wow’ more than you say ‘how’
‘How’ is good, ‘how’ is important but how you say ‘how’ is crucial! Let me explain….
Before Jesus was born God appeared to Zechariah and Mary and he said to both (an old man and a young woman) they would have a miracle child.
Both responded with the word ‘how’ but it came from a different heart.
Zechariah said ‘how can this be?’ Mary said ‘how will this be?’ (Luke 1)
Her ‘how’ came from a different heart, it was open, it was curious and soon that ‘how’ turned into a ‘wow’ when she said, ‘let this happen to me as you say’ – Luke 1 v.38 NCV
In other words, “I don’t know how you will pull this off but you’re God and I’m not and that’s ok with me!” Stay CURIOUS
#3 – Grieve your losses
Over the last 3 years we’ve all had losses, disappointments and setbacks.
I know I have…deaths in the family, ongoing health issues in the family, mental health challenges, disappointments and setbacks in life, leadership and ministry.
Here’s the thing, I know I’m not alone…
Pain, loss, disappointment, setback, grief, it doesn’t just add it stacks!
When it stacks the weight of that increases and if we don’t grieve our losses our heart will choose one of the other C’s, either closed or cynical.
So do what you need to do to grieve your losses, identify them, name them, get help for them, give yourself space and permission and invite Jesus to bring his healing to them.
What’s at stake is your heart, what’s at stake is your future…
What C will you choose to be? As for me, I’m choosing CURIOUS
Today I pray for you, whether you have faith or not, may you know the presence and power of God, may you know that whatever your past has been your future doesn’t have to be that way….hold the door of your heart open and above all stay CURIOUS
Getting older myself, I have been thinking through a lot of things. I definitely have losses and have been getting help with my grief.
This week I have heard a couple of things that have helped. They seem to relate to the above.
One is, God doesn’t want us to just ‘get by’ or ‘settle for stuff’. We can still have desires and purpose.
The other was, God did not create us to just ‘survive’ or ‘cope’ but to discover! I see this as discovering more about God, about our purpose and about ourselves. That keeps us excited whatever our ages! 😊
Thanks Julia great thoughts!
Curious needs a 4th ‘C’ – courage! Closed isn’t interested, cynical is the opposite in being fearful but curious needs courage. Courage drives out fear; it enables us to take a second look rather than giving in; courage drives the questions our curiosity needs answering. We need to be courageous enough to chance asking the ‘wrong’ question, or mistakenly asking a question when we should listen to learn; we need to be courageous enough to believe in ourselves enough to attach importance to what we want to know, and not see it as silly. So Jesus fill us with courage to be curious; speak into our minds to seek more of you, to know you more and keep me always seeking greater understanding through Your greater wisdom. Amen