30 years

I turned 30 earlier this year. Not particularly old. Not particularly young. (Side note: I'm excited about my 30s, not waving the black flag of lost youth.) Aside from all the cultural hoopla of starting to "age," I've been reflecting on what people have started or done in their 30s or accomplished in a three decade span of time. The chart/timeline below is from a Galatians Bible study book I am going through and really helped put a visual to 30 years. A few things pondered this morning:

• Jesus was 30 years old when He began his public ministry and accomplished a whole lot in just 3 years.

• Saul/Paul was approximately 30 years old when Jesus showed up on the road to Damascus and changed the course of his life forever.

• Paul's Christian life spanned about 30 years. A time frame that wrote most of the new testament and included multi-year missionary journeys around the Roman Empire and a lot of time in prison.

• 30 years is only the beginning. Not the beginning of the end.

I'd encourage you to take a a closer look at the timeline below up close. Let me know if you see any other cool connections or observations!