Reflections on Turning 70
I’m 70!
Yes, it’s true. My birthday is March 13th, and I will be, or am, 70 years old, depending on when you’re reading this blog. I can’t turn this milestone without some reflection on living 70 years. I recently read an account of King David’s life. The bible says he became king at age 30 and served for 40 years; then the bible says, “He died at a good old age.” Wow! As “young” as I feel most of the time, and as much as I attempt to “stay young”, the Lord declares 70 is a good old age.
So, I’m grateful to still be alive.
I was born in 1953 to a hardworking mom and dad who parented and loved their children with an ease that escapes many young parents today. They approached life as they were taught to do, having survived WWII, with a “we can do this” attitude. Our household included me and five siblings and a grandmother. Our family was, what I thought, a typical family of the 1950’s and 60’s. My dad worked to support his family; my mom stayed home to care of the children. We had a dog, a fenced-in backyard, attended church three times a week, and sat around the dinner table at night in assigned seats. We had one television, one stereo, and everyone shared a room.
I would say it was nearly perfect.
I loved my high school years, was voted “cutest in the senior class”, which I didn’t deserve, and made friends that I still communicate with to this day. I swam on a swim team, sang in the chorus, supported every school function, and made frequent trips to McDonalds to see the cute boys. I met Johnny Howard while attending a summer camp, fell in love, and married him when I was eighteen years old. We’ve been married 51 years and hope for many more. Our marriage hasn’t been perfect—no daily rainbows and sunshine, as the children of 60’s hoped for, but it’s been so blessed by God, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
We attended Harding University until Johnny graduated (I was two years behind him.) and then moved to Johnny’s hometown, West Monroe, La. Johnny joined his family company, Howard Bros. Discount Stores, as a Vice-President, straight out of college. I’ll never forget helping him clean up his college “lamb chops” and put a suit on for his first day of work. I was pregnant with Korie and couldn’t wait to see him at the end of that first day. As kids say today, we were adulting at age 20 and 22 for sure!
Our family quickly grew to three kids before I turned twenty-five and so did Johnny’s responsibilities. He was a hard worker and helped his family grow the Howard Bros. stores until his family sold it, giving us a solid financial base. God truly blessed us, and our goal was to “give back” in any way we could. At a young age, we decided to always have the doors of our home open to anyone who needed a place to stay. We had been blessed, so we wanted to bless others. Through the years, we’ve had over 100 people live with us for longer than six weeks. They were all a blessing to us.
Johnny continued working, starting another business, Super Saver Warehouse Club. I finished my degree in Elementary Education and began teaching. Teaching was perfect for me, as I had also dedicated my life to lifelong ministry work at the camp that brought us together. To this day, I still serve as one of the directors. I joke that everyone outgrows summer camp but me. Again, more blessings. Through Camp Ch-Yo-Ca, I have met thousands of young people and watched as they grew closer to the Lord and each other while at summer camp, just as I had done. I also volunteered with the youth at our church and for thirty-five years hosted the teens at our house every Sunday night.
Our children grew and we loved every minute of parenting them. They were kind, respectful, hardworking, and fun. They did “all the things” school kids do—piano, gymnastics, baseball, softball, basketball, track—all of it! They even fought like normal kids. That I didn’t love, but we worked through it, and they are there for each other as adult friends today.
Business wise, Super Saver grew, and we sold it to Sam’s Club in 1987. This allowed Johnny to take over the management of Howard Publishing, a small Christian publishing company his dad had started in 1969. Eventually, I quit teaching and joined Howard Publishing, not knowing anything about publishing. What a learning experience that was! God blessed our time at Howard Publishing, and we were able to meet and learn from many of the movers and shakers in the Christian world. It also grew and, later, we sold it to Simon & Schuster. That opened the door for Johnny to step in and help with Duck Commander, as our daughter, Korie’s, family launched a TV show, Duck Dynasty. It does seem like a lot of starting a company and selling, but remember, we’re old! We’ve had time to do a few things.
We’ve lived in the same neighborhood for over forty-five years, but God saw to it that we also saw the world. Over the years, we’ve been blessed to travel to over fifty countries. Most of our travel was for mission work, but some was just to enjoy God’s blessings of scenery and history. Sometimes I drive past our “old” house, which is a few houses down from the one we have now lived in for thirty-seven years, and try to picture my three little kids playing in the yard. It’s so sweet to be able to see that daily and make new memories on the same streets with my great grands. More on that later.
Time marched, ran, and flew by and we added in-laws and grandkids and now great grandkids. Oh, how I love our grandkids! Each one brought so much joy as we watched them grow up. They are all young adults now doing just what they were raised to do—serving God, family, and community. It’s the best! And the great grands! Oh, my word! What fun! I cry just writing about how much I love them and am so honored to get to be a part of their lives. Thank you, God!
Seventy years means a lot has happened, too much to put in a blog. But be assured that no life survives without its share of hurts, hang ups and habits, as is said in our WFR Celebrate Recovery program. We’ve had our share of deaths, diseases, and divorces and more, but God has been faithful to walk beside us through it all. He’s given us strength and strengthened us through every trial.
I was baptized at thirteen years old on my birthday, so March 13 is my spiritual birthday too. From that moment, I have felt God’s hand on my life. Gifts, I didn’t know I had, were revealed to me as I said “yes” to God’s calling to try and do new things. Alexandria Senior High School, Harding University, Camp Ch-Yo-Ca, WFR Church, Ouachita Christian School, and all our many businesses opened doors this very shy girl never dreamed she could walk through, but with God’s help, she did.
This blog isn’t to boast about a good life; it is to thank God for an amazing life and to encourage you, if you’re not yet 70, to keep taking one right step after another and soon, you will be 70 too, and 70 is a good old age. But I’m going for 100!
