Jeremiah 33:3. It reads, “Call upon Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know!” Has God placed in your heart the desire to share His truth through writing?
God has never called a person without providing him or her with the ability to complete the task or the place to exercise the call. Maybe, like me, you have a few years of life experience under your belt (code for getting up there in years).
It’s never too late to begin. Here are a few examples of older people who made a big impact or accomplished remarkable things (with a few years under their belts).
“The world stands aside,” said David Jordan, “to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.” Having a goal or dream applies to those, who learn where they are going late in life as well as for the young.
At age 40, James Michener published his first book. He authored more than 50 titles – 26 historical fiction novels, 31 nonfiction books, and 13 of his works were adapted into TV mini-series or made into movies.
At age 53, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister.
At age 65, Winston Churchill became British prime minister for the first time and started the epic struggle against Hitler. Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 at age 79 for his many published works, especially his six-volume set The Second World War. He wrote the six-volume set when he was in his 70s without any assistance or ghostwriters. The photo is of Sir Winston Churchill.
At age 69, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. He served two terms. He was 77 years old when he completed his second term in office.
At age 70, 80 and again at 90, former President of the USA George H.W. Bush parachuted out of an airplane.
At age 72, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.
At age 75, Ed Delano of California bicycled 3100 miles in 33 days to attend his 50th college reunion in Worcester, Massachusetts.
At age 80, Grandma Moses, who had started painting in her late 70s, had her first one-woman exhibit.
At age 80, Winston Churchill returned to the House of Commons as a member of parliament and also exhibited 62 of his paintings.
At age 81, Benjamin Franklin skillfully mediated between disagreeing factions at the U. S. Constitutional Convention.
At age 90, Sarah had a son named Issac. God found Sarah and her husband Abraham useful to His cause. See Genesis 17:17 KJV, “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, and Isaac was born.
At age 96, George C. Selbach scored a 110-yard hole-in-one at Indian River, Michigan.
On his 100th birthday, ragtime pianist Eubie Blake exclaimed, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”
How about you? Have you slowed down, packed it in, given up, and checked out? If I know the Heavenly Father, I know that He has something wonderful still in store for you! It’s never too late. Why don’t you call God up and ask Him what that might be? His number is found in The Bible in Jeremiah 33:3. It reads, “Call upon Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know!”
Encourage your friends, keep reading and writing.
Jimmie A. Kepler
Picture Source: Churchill V sign HU 55521.jpg This artistic work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain. This is because it is one of the following: 1) It is a photograph created by the United Kingdom Government and taken prior to 1 June 1957; or 2) It was commercially published prior to 1961, or 3) It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created by the United Kingdom Government prior to 1961.
So there is still hope for me! Thanks for your inspiring words, Jimmie. Winston Churchill is one of my heroes. This past June, when I traveled to London, a long visit to the Churchill War Rooms was a highlight of my trip. He was a courageous and determined man–an inspiration for the entire world during World War II.
Thank you for your kind words. There is still hope for me, too!
Wow – great inspirations from these folks you researched and shared!! It’s never too late to be used by God, that’s for sure! Thanks for sharing.
I love the phrase you used, “It’s never too late to be used by God.” Thanks!
I LOVE this. I’m going to read it to my husband, Scott, who turns 53 this week (he’s older than me, by the way! lol!) Scott has been a successful accountant for 25 years . Recently, he approached me with the idea of going back to school to become a nurse. I took this desire seriously because Scott has supported my dream of becoming a published author in the second half of life. You see, when Scott was in high school, he had dreams of becoming a doctor like I had dreams of becoming an author.
Well, we prayed over him going back to school and the Lord gave all sorts of confirmations to “go for it.” Scott is now back in school and on his way to becoming a nurse! He loves doing the clinical hours where he gets to interact with real patients.
And I just published my third book in the Beauties from Ashes series. God is good!
All of this to say, it’s never too late. God wants to use ALL of our gifts and talents for ALL of our lives. We are never too old to serve the Lord 🙂
Thanks for this inspiring post. I loved the list of folks who did great things in their later years.
Before “retiring” to write I had been a US Army officer, full-time minster/Christian school principal, corporate trainer, and retrained in my late 40s for information technology which I worked in from 1997 until retirement. All the while I was writing. I sold my first traditionally published article in 1981 and have sold regularly since writing magazine and trade journal articles as well as nonfiction and fiction books. I do better with the nonfiction books than fiction (a big reason I’m attending the Mountainside Novelist Worksop next month!).
Jimmie, loved reading this! How inspiring.
Thank you.
Thank you! When the Lord had me start writing I was 43 years old. It didn’t go as I expected and I ended up taking a 10 year break. I did not want to begin again. I thought I was too old to be noticed since there were so many younger people taking up writing who were better than me. I have nearly completed a BIble study I know He wanted me to write.
I can’t wait to see what He does with it.
Great on the Bible study and your being obedient to the call to write. If I can help with book promotion when it comes out let me know. I can at least post something about it.
Thank you so much!
Thank you.
Well said Mr. Jimmie. The world has not even seen all we older Americans have left in our tanks sir. You and others in our generation have so much to offer the world. I pray they have time to take advantage of it before our Lord returns! Enjoyed the “pep talk” Coach! 🙂
Thanks. You are honoring the Lord with your faithfulness.
I love that quote about the world standing aside for those who knew where they are going. So true! We’re meant to have an impact until Jesus calls us home. Thank you for the reminder!
Exactly. It reminds me of “Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10
I need this kind of encouragement constantly because my mind tells me I have waited too late to do anything. I know God has called me to write and teach and that is enough, but the mind gets in the way sometimes. Thanks for this post.
Thank you for your comments. I turn 66 in November. I struggle with “am I too old thoughts myself.” I remind myself that God will get the word the correct audience. It is better to have limited or minimal sales that touch one life for Christ than sell millions of books that don’t advance the kingdom of God.