God has recently been telling me, “Give it away” and that is just what I am doing! I’ve invited some beautiful souls from my favorite Facebook community for women in the 50+ season of life, The Consilium:a Gathering of Wisdom and Grace. Enjoy the words from their hearts and, if you don’t mind, would you leave a comment to encourage them? Feel free to join us over at The Consilium – we would love to see you there!
Today would you welcome, Debbie Putman:
Fifty-nine. 59. However I write it, the number represents the years of my life.
59 puts me in different categories. In some places, like Denny’s and AMC Theatres, I get a senior discount. I became officially old enough to retire four years ago. But I can’t collect Medicare until I’m 62. And a half. Some places don’t consider me a senior citizen until I’m 65. My mom still thinks I’m her baby. My husband thinks of me as both his young bride and the woman he’s been married to for almost 38 years, our entire adult life.
Do all of these numbers confuse you? They often confuse me. I finally decided to admit I’m MOLD, between Middle-aged and OLD. Kind of like the seventh graders I teach are considered tweens, between child and teen.
I like the idea of MOLD. Not mold like what grows on crusty old bread. But a woman still willing and able to let my God MOLD me into whomever He wants me to become. It took most of my fifties to change from mold into MOLD.
I looked forward to my fifties. I had enough experience to face anything and enough time to enjoy all life still offered. My to-do list for my fifties included comfort and fun.
God knew my plan meant I would become that crusty, old bread covered with mold. He wanted better for me.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Before ugly, destructive mold sprouted, He allowed changes in my life. Changes I neither wanted nor expected. I fought every one. I argued, cried, prayed, and stubbornly rejected life not going according to my perfect little plan. I refused to be content with the changes forced on me: my oldest daughter walked away from God and her family, financial pressures, my husband’s depression over losing a good friend and a business venture that never got off the ground, my youngest daughter forced to leave her husband and move herself, two of my grandchildren,and their dog in with us. I convinced myself if I kept praying and looking to God, He would put my little world back the way I wanted it.
God, in His great love and mercy, did not allow me to become a crusty piece of bread covered with mold. Instead, He MOLDed me into someone with a much softer heart. Never one with patience for mess, clutter, or people who didn’t have it all together, God gave me opportunities to learn compassion, kindness, and patience first-hand.
I learned spending hours at the bedside of my daughter, Kimberly, as she fought rare complications from her Juvenile Diabetes, eventually losing all the toes on her left foot and then, at 32, passing away. God changed me from an impatient woman, to one who willingly helped and cared for someone else.
I learned while my daughter, Erin, my grandson, Zach, and my granddaughter, Katie lived with us that perfectly made beds are not as much fun as those you jump on together. And if you don’t make the bed at all, life still goes on—with gusto and laughter.
I learned when the team of teachers I worked with for years changed, that if I listened to the ideas of others, even if they have less experience, they support me when I need it.
I learned I don’t need a perfect life. Or my idea of a perfect life.
I need God. He’s all I need. He never leaves. He holds me close. He wipes away my tears. He fills me with peace.
MOLD me, God. You are the potter. I am the clay.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
I am Debbie Putman, 59 years old. I’ve been married to Van for 37 years. We have two grown daughters: Kimberly, who went to be with Jesus 5 years ago at 32, and Erin, now 35. Our grandchildren are Zachary, 13, Katie, 11, and Robyn, 10. I teach seventh grade English and History in Rancho Cucamonga, California. I love the beach, birds, reading, writing, baking cookies, and God’s Word.
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This “I had enough experience to face anything and enough time to enjoy all life still offered.” I love this line! What a beautiful post of God using things in our life to refine and re-mold us. Beautiful, Debbie. Just beautiful!
Thank you for sharing.
God knew I needed a different kind of experience. His grace provided me with what I didn’t know I needed!
Wow, Debbie. You’ve walked some difficult paths, but your faith shines so brightly. This line sings in my heart, having aging parents with their myriad of issues:
God changed me from an impatient woman, to one who willingly helped and cared for someone else.
He’s reMOLDing me too, and giving me joy in the journey. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Thanks Susan. I lost my dad in July, and those lessons helped while he was in the hospital. May God give you peace and wisdom as you journey with your parents.
You are so right. God is our constant. He never changes, never leaves and always loves. No matter what is happening in our lives, we can count on Him to be right by our sides. That is a comfort that I’ve been clinging to through many things over the past few years and I am so thankful!
Blessings, Joan
And clinging only to Him is just what He wants us to do. My life is better when I remember that and live it moment-by-moment. Bless you as you grow with Him.
To remain pliable in the hands of God rather than becoming rigid as we age is so important. “you are the potter, I am the clay… mold me and make me… Have thine own way!!!
Debbie… your faith has been tried in the fire… the fires that refine our souls… transform us from being an impatient woman… perfectionism… etc… and leaves us with a better story to tell!!!!
I sing that song often because I keep wanting to jump of the potter’s wheel before He’s done. He is the faithful, loving God who always knows what is best for me.
Thank you Debbie for sharing this worthy post! I too am in the process of letting the Lord mold me into what He has planned for me in this changing season of my life! What a relief! I am relearnng the joy of complete surrender to Jesus, the lover of my soul and author and finisher of my faith.
The JOY of complete surrender to Jesus. Amen.
I don’t need a perfect life…I just need God! Amen! This was beautiful. I want to be MOLDed too. Blessings for this today, just what I needed.
If you want to be MOLDed, God will definitely do that for you; He’s MOLDing me even when I don’t want it. But I’ve learned to be still and wait for His transformation of me because then I am filled with a peace I don’t have when I’m struggling to control life on my own. Blessings to you as you see God work in your life.
Debbie, this was beautifully worded. We never know what the future holds. I’ve had many valley moments and that is when God drew me closer. Thank you for sharing and that is how God uses those of us who have gained wisdom through experience.
Thank you, Daphne. May God always make His Presence known to you in the joys and sorrows ahead.
Debbie,
This is me: “Never one with patience for mess, clutter, or people who didn’t have it all together, God gave me opportunities to learn compassion, kindness, and patience first-hand.”
Thank you for insights. God continues to mold and shape us into the beautiful art that He meant for us to be!
I am looking forward to this season of my life – to have more time to devote to passions God has planted into my heart!
Mei,
God created each of us just as He wanted. And then He gives us opportunities to let Him finish the work so we are more and more like Jesus. I pray He will gently sculpt you into the beautiful woman He planned as you walk with Him.
“……But a woman still willing and able to let my God MOLD me into whomever He wants me to become. It took most of my fifties to change from mold into MOLD.” That’s just what I was praying about this morning for myself! I loved this post…..Thank you so much for sharing your journey, you are an inspiration! Lori
Lori,
Thank you for seeing inspiration. I so often feel moldy, but the reality is God IS changing me. He will answer your prayer because He is a faithful, loving God. Blessings on your journey.
“I learned I don’t need a perfect life. Or my idea of a perfect life. I need God.”
Indeed!
At this stage of life, I’m learning God isn’t done molding me. Thanks for this, Debbie.
Debbie, I love your persepctive and you encourage me in the faith and circumstances that mold you into who God has planned for you to be. Thank you. Thank you. Bonnie
Bonnie,
God is the faithful One. I pray you see Him working in your life as He blesses you in ways you can’t imagine.
I absolutely love your description of MOLD! This spoke to me so vividly…
“a woman still willing and able to let my God MOLD me into whomever He wants me to become.”
It’s so easy as we age to become accustomed to doing things or behaving in such a way as we’ve “always done it”. Your words are a beautiful reminder that we are to be ever pliable, malleable and MOLDable no matter how old we are.
This was thoughtfully and beautifully written Debbie. Thank you!
Caryn,
Thank you. Reading Jean Fleming’s book Pursue the Intentional Life helped me see more clearly some of the lessons I had in my mind but wasn’t always applying to my heart. God CAN teach a (m)old dog new tricks!
Oh Debbie, this one made me cry. What a beautiful prayer! Mold me, Lord. Yes, Lord.
This is such a beautiful post. It is so true – we age & life happens, much we would like to avoid. Yet God takes it all & molds us to be more like Him. I love the way you looked at middle-aged & old! I want to be molded all the remaining days of my life. Grateful to have read this today! Blessings!
Joanne,
If you are willing, God will mold you. Blessings as He works in your life.
i love this, its beautiful, and now i know who to call when I’m feeling moldy. it seems the older i get the harder life becomes. Why do we think differently when we were young? truly grateful this this beautiful group of ladies.
Teresa,
I, too, love this group of ladies. What a blessing The Consillium is. How much we need each other. Please, please, please, call on me when you feel moldy; it’s just a chance to be molded by God (and sometimes we need a WOW to help us see it!)
WONDERFUL writing. Molded… yes I am going to be 60 the end of the year and I too feel God has molded me and made me better, different and is changing me inside out. Let us encourage each other as we walk this road of aging and late marriage and grand children and adult children. Welcome to this beautiful time of our lives.
Sharon,
Welcome indeed. Changing from the inside out is a process that is not easy, but so much better than being stuck. Blessings as God works to mold you.
You know Debbie sometimes I want that perfect life too. Then I realize that life is what I make it. So I am thankful to God for leading the way. Loved your writing, Lynn
Lynn,
We will get our perfect life when we see Jesus face to face. What a glorious promise for our journey here!
“He allowed changes in my life. Changes I neither wanted nor expected. I fought every one. I argued, cried, prayed, and stubbornly rejected life not going according to my perfect little plan.”
great post Debbie:) I found it very helpful
Martha,
Thank you. I pray God will bless you as you walk with Him and He molds you.
What an encourager play on words! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.
Tammy,
God promises us wisdom if we ask. And when I didn’t ask, He provided it through life experiences. God loves us so much He always does what we need most. Blessings as you seek Him.
I had to stop and read these words over and over:
I learned I don’t need a perfect life. Or my idea of a perfect life.
I need God. He’s all I need. He never leaves. He holds me close. He wipes away my tears. He fills me with peace.
It resonated with me. Thank you for being willing to write – thank you for being willing to share.
Chris,
May God fill you with His peace as you surrender to Him.
I appreciated traveling with you as you came to experience that what God has been shaping in you is MOLD.
I loved reading through the comments that come before this one I am leaving from me.
Being on the Potter’s Wheel is not easy but not being with Him as He works will definitely leave us reeling through the life experiences you shared and that we others have in our own circumstances.
I’d hope we could always face our lives as MOLD – feeling we are still in the middle – or the midst – of all God is wanting to do so that each season becomes the best because we are yielded and willing.
GREAT post – appreciate you!
Lynn,
I appreciate your beautiful encouragement. No one’s journey is the same, and yet we can all benefit from hearing about another’s walk. God’s lessons always lead back to His mercy, grace, and faithfulness. He is good.
Sandra,
Blessings and joy as you let God mold you.
Lyli,
Thank you. Tears are always part of being molded into God’s masterpiece. Blessings as you walk with Him.
Debbie…how sad to loose Kimberly at 32….heart-breaking. Without God, how would we get through such hardship? !!
I love MOLD…middle-old…fits us perfectly, and I believe we ALL want God to continue to mold US until we look like Jesus.
My new nick-name might be moldy mary. hmmmm.
Thanks for sharing you insights with us….we learn so much from reading what others have learnt on their journey through life.
God Bless you Debbie…..Mary from downunder bringing up the rear as you all post when I’m asleep 🙂
Mary from Down Under,
Remember it’s MOLDy Mary. Letting God MOLD you so you don’t become moldy. Blessings as you let Him make you more and more beautiful.
God, Mold me, too! If I wait on being perfect, I’ll never leave the house!
Love your message Debbie!
Thank you!
Summer,
Just your name cries to be free. Joy for your journey even on the stormy days.
Oh Debbie,
What a brave 59 year old soul are you, I relate to so much of your post and I will be joining on the 8th of October with the tween of being 59!
I love your precious life challenges you have shared in this post Thank You for pouring out your soul with clarity and honesty, many Blessings Dear sister in Christ!
Marie,
I am not brave. I am loved by God. He never, never, never gives up on me…or anyone. And that is pure love.
What a beautiful post. God uses every circumstance in our life, the good and the not so good, to mold us and shape us into His image. You’ve come a long way baby!
Thank you, Barbie.
God has brought me a long way. And I look forward to the way still to come, knowing He will never leave me or forsake me.