The secret to aging gracefully is having the wisdom of the aged and the youthfulness of the ageless.

I have a confession . . . I’m just as boring as I appear.

When I said that to my wife, she said, “I love boring.” I assumed she meant, “And boring is sexy.” Yep, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Anna and I have laughed over the years about how I’m both the epitome and the antithesis of boring. It all depends on how you define boring.

When my kids were young, they thought I was a dinosaur – old-fashioned and unable to adapt to their expectations. But as they’ve aged, my kids better understand the two sides of their “boring” father – 1) a passion for predictable character and 2) a pursuit of staying young at heart. I call this combo: “content but never satisfied.”

Side #1:  Predictable: The confidence of character

One of the greatest gifts that my parents gave me was knowing what I could expect of them every single day. What they believed, they lived. Their character didn’t take days off, which gave me an unquestioned confidence that I was loved and safe – bedrock qualities that most kids can only dream of. My parents weren’t perfect; just predictable.

So, yes, if “boring” is being predictable, I’m guilty, and always hope to be guilty, and hope my kids and grandkids will be guilty. They don’t need to follow my ways of predictability, as long as their ways lead to faithfulness. But predictability is just one side of the coin. The other side is equally important for kids to want to carry on a godly legacy: the “Y” character quality of our family secret sauce:  Young-hearted – the youthfulness of character.

Side #2: Young-hearted:  The youthfulness of character

Youthfulness can be enjoyed by the young, but it’s not fully appreciated until you’re old enough to learn from the past and still be excited about the future. Then you find real joy and experience real life because you know the real hope found in Jesus. Sure, you’ll get a few wrinkles and scars, but those little imperfections are outward trophies of internal victories. No matter your age or health, you can overcome the bad days with a youthful conviction that great days are ahead.

Too often, people focus on staying young-looking without staying young-hearted. They want the appearance of youth while hiding the reality of age. Instead of embracing the great things that come with age, they cling to a false hope of avoiding the not-so-great things that come too.

As a young man, I had to decide: spend a fortune on hair restoration, or embrace my baldness. Instead of doing a crazy comb-over, I choose to laugh about it. One of my favorite jokes is: “Do you know why I’m bald?” After people shake their head no, I continue, “Because it wouldn’t be fair if I had the WHOLE PACKAGE!” No, I don’t believe it either, but I believe this: I may not look young, but I can act it. I can age gracefully by staying young at heart.

Thankfully, there are many ways to stay youthful. Anna stays young by serving and relating to others. I, though, love to discover and learn. When I resigned my role at Cross City Church, I didn’t know what I would do next, but I knew I would get away and discover something new. So I did what any 57-year old former CFO and Executive Pastor would do . . . I took my wife to Antarctica and hang glided in Rio de Janeiro (hence, the attached photo).

Staying young at heart & staying true to you

Am I a daredevil? Hardly. I’m a recovering perfectionist and accountant. But bland? A dinosaur? No way. I refuse to be stodgy because I can’t connect with my kids if I can’t connect with what matters to them. I must stay young at heart while staying true to myself. Thus, I’ll always be predictable, but I’ll never stop blaring a great rock-n-roll tune. Conservative, yet a little crazy.

You don’t need to act like our kids; you need to lead them. You can by being a role model of the Apostle Paul’s secret: content in everything (Phil 4:11-13) but never satisfied with who you are in your journey to faithfulness – both the epitome and the antithesis of “boring.”

Whatever keeps you young, use it for God’s glory and others’ good. If you will, even when your aching joints say you’re old, your character will keep you young . . . even when your kids think you’re boring.

What’s your “Y” character quality?

My goal is to help you pass down a godly legacy to your kids by choosing, sharing, and living out your own Secret Sauce of family character. Click here for a Free Printable Workbook with instructions on how to choose your family’s 26 A-to-Z Secret Sauce ingredients, along with 300 sample A-to-Z character qualities that start on page 16.

Examples of “Y” character qualities include: Yearning, Yes, Yes-ma’am, Yoke-breaker, Yoked, Young-hearted, Youthful, or pick your own.

Questions: What could you do (or start doing again) to model being young-hearted for your family? What “Y” word captures the essence of the character you want for your family, and why?