Fivish Years, Redefined

Every once in awhile we redefine ourselves, not out of spite for the old us, but out of reflection of the new us.  In actuality this change is not an all of a sudden kind of thing, it’s a gradual months or even years long kind of process.  It’s often only measured when we look back at past photographs or get lost in “remember when” thoughts that it dawns on us that things are different.  Recently, while playing around with social media it struck me, wow, life really has changed in the last fivish years.

Now, I know what your thinking… fivish isn’t really a word.  Well, you're right, it’s not. (Side tangent, there’s an add to my dictionary tab on google docs... embrace it, use it, love it).  I say five “ish” years because I’m looking back at the events more so than the actual time. We... I, tend to get lost in the day to day, the need to do this now so that this will happen kind of living.  Time goes by and we don’t realize the changes that have occurred until we finally step back for a second and take it all in.

That taking it in moment struck me the other day, fivish years ago we were just wrapping up my son’s adoption, I was just getting a new, better job position, I finally got the college degree I had been working on for three years, and my family and I were in the process of moving to a new home.  All of those things happened in a span of about six months. Life was rapidly changing in ways that I never could have imagined, but since I was in the thick of it all I never stopped to notice what was going on.

At the time I didn’t realize what a transformational year that was in my life, in the life of my family.  It was just “living” as usual for a family that always seems to be getting into some new small adventure. In the fivish years since then my children have grown rapidly and a million more memories have been made and life has gone whizzing by. Then I started playing on social media one day and the photos glared at me while the memories poured in.  It’s amazing what five years will bring, and what five years will take away.

Then another thought hit me… I’m not the same me I was fivish years ago, and that’s not a bad thing, it’s just a redefining thing.  I still have a heart for those in need around the world and those down the street, where would we be without that. The difference is the way that plays out in my day to day life.  Today I’m not trekking the globe to expand my family for instance, I find ways to make that impact closer to home. As a wise man once said, don’t forsake those around you for those far from you in the name of doing good, or something like that.

Now, not everything has changed… I still live in the same house that we moved into and I’m still very much done with college and thankfully that job has proven to be the better position that it originally was.  But those things seem insignificant to the change of mind that I have now, the change in spirit. With a little more age has come a little more maturity and growth in the knowledge of the Lord above. It has also brought about a desire to keep growing in that knowledge and see it grow in the lives of my family and friends.

Don’t take me wrong in all of this, I’m not that mature, just ask my wife, and I’m far from that old, don’t ask my younger friends.  My point in all of this is to step back, look at where you’re at and take it in.  Redefine yourself based on the here, the now, and enjoy the view. You may find that you really love where life has taken you, even if it’s not anywhere close to where you thought it would be. Most importantly, praise God whether you think your last fivish years were fruitful or not. You never know where the next fivish will take you.


- C