Sometimes being in your fifties can feel pretty old. Unless you have perfect genes, great health, and a lot of longevity in your family, you begin to realize that you're probably not going to live to be 100 or beyond. This soulful acknowledgement makes it easy for even an optimist to look at the glass of life and conclude that it probably has been more than half emptied.

Well over a century ago, however, the British poet Robert Browning penned the following impressive lines squarely aimed at praising the value of enduring love and reassuring the seeker that God's plan is constantly at work at every age in every life: "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'"

Pessimists always find it hard to do as Browning advises. It is difficult for them to trust God, and they are often filled with a paralyzing fear of so many things. When they look to the future, they are terrified by the prospect that what lies ahead is nothing but an endless cycle of doctor's appointments, surgeries, hospitalizations, walkers, and nursing home stays. The ever optimistic true believer, however, looks with hope to the part of the glass that is still full and rejoices in whatever remains, knowing that God has something special in store for each person and that even in our old age, a life-changing miracle could be just around the corner.

Every so often a person comes along or an event takes place to remind us of how many pleasant surprises life can indeed still hold for us. On Thursday, June 28, three of our former Fontbonne teachers (Sisters Camella Gambale, Rita Morrissey, and Nanine Tuller), my sister Alane, our friends, and I joyfully celebrated one such mini-miracle. On that picture-perfect evening, we gathered at Symphony Hall to watch Fontbonne alumna Maria Perry, Alane's classmate, compete for the chance to sing with the Boston Pops on the Esplanade during their special July 4th concert.

Thanks to my classmate, Eleanor Hayes McGourty, who works for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, we were seated right up front at those tiny little tea tables that are so Pops and so pretty, if not so practical! It was a nostalgic night. All of us could easily conjure up memories of the youthful high-school-aged Maria with her even-then amazing voice. We could still picture her at sixteen, singing a solo at Fontbonne's spring Glee Club concert, held outdoors on the lawn. Maria astonished everyone with her depth of feeling and her dulcet tones. After her performance at that magical concert almost forty years ago, one young man was heard to say to the chagrin of his girlfriend, "That was so beautiful that I want to kiss her." Maria's performance on this equally enchanted evening would be no different.

At 52, Maria was much older than the other two finalists joining her on stage for a last-song-showdown chance to wow the judges and Pops conductor Keith Lockhart. First came the soulful voice of Lydia Herrell, singing the ballad, "At Last." Looking incredibly elegant in her floor-length black evening gown, Maria then confidently stepped onto the stage and masterfully sang "Not While I'm around" from "Sweeney Todd." Next came Gisela Johnson's rousing rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm not Going" from "Dreamgirls." We in the audience, the judges, the Orchestra, and Keith Lockhart all voted, and the totals were added to those obtained on the website from people who had cast electronic ballots submitting them over the Internet in the days preceding the concert.

In suspense, we waited until after intermission when Keith Lockhart stepped onto the stage and with a drum-roll flourish, announced that the winner was indeed our own Maria Perry! Our little contingent went wild, screaming, cheering, hollering, and whistling our approval in a manner quite boisterously reminiscent of our former high-school selves. We were so loud and enthusiastic that we glimpsed the esteemed maestro looking our way and later at the reception following the concert, he facetiously commented to Alane, "You ladies were so loud that I thought I was going to have to call Security!" Ecstatically happy, we posed for photos with Maria at the reception, warmly congratulating her on her win.

Conducting our own post-mortem of the victory on our way home, we shared our observations and discovered that all of us were incredibly thrilled by the outcome and were as delighted as if we ourselves had actually won. "What kind of a loser am I?" Alane, asked, adding, "I didn't even win and I'm all excited." To which her friend Cheryl retorted, "At least you know Maria. I don't and I'm just as excited as you are! So if you are a loser for feeling how you feel, what does that make me?"

A hearty laugh was shared by all of us before we unanimously decided that our euphoria was not at all eccentric or unusual. In part our rejoicing resulted from the larger principles underlying Maria's win. That evening right before our eyes, we had seen that a dream as seemingly far-fetched as singing with the Pops could come true. In this culture that worships youth, it seemed all the more encouraging to us, older folks, that such a dream could become a reality for someone who had attained the more advanced age of 52. By most standards, the stage belongs to the young, yet here was someone older who had been chosen over her youthful competitors. It was a truly amazing victory, a win proving that good things can happen at every stage of life.

It was particularly poignant too because Maria's life had recently taken her in a different direction. Popular in Boston for many years as a cabaret-style singer, she married ten years ago, moving away to Kansas City and stepping off the stage. Looking for an alternative career, she had recently become a certified instructor in "ZUMBA," an aerobic program using international rhythms and Latin dance steps. Her Pops win placed her back on the concert stage.

On July 4, in keeping with our custom, my friends and I journeyed to my office in the Hancock Tower to see the spectacular fireworks display from the astonishing eye-level view that being on the 46th floor provides. First, we gathered around the TV to watch as Maria walked out in the rain to sing before the capacity crowd. The weather may have been all wet, but her singing was anything but, as she masterfully performed. Some of the spectators in the appreciative audience accorded her a standing ovation. So did we!

The famous twentieth-century playwright George Bernard Shaw wisely advised, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." In a similar vein, Shaw's contemporary, the noted spiritual novelist, C.S. Lewis, quipped, "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." What both authors are suggesting is that no matter what our age, we should hold fast to the child in our heart, to that youthful soul within who knows the wisdom of believing, of not accepting defeat, and of trusting that God is leading us to new visions never before seen and never yet experienced.

At every age, each of us remains a work in progress, a uniquely gifted person whose talents are still being tapped, whose potential is still unfolding, and whose love is still expanding as we reach out to encompass ever more people in the world around us. In God's plan for us, truly "the best is yet to be."

In the following lines, the Jesuit philosopher, scientist, and priest, Teilhard de Chardin, poignantly expressed the joy and the uncertainty that we feel as we continue on our journey through life. He advises, "Only God can say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that God's hand is leading you. And accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete." All of us are in suspense and incomplete, and yet, all of us who remain open and listen, know that we are indeed being led on our journey by God's loving hand.

No matter what your age, may you be open to the power of God's transforming love and may you find great joy on your journey. May you look with a child's wide-eyed wonder at the amazing sights unfolding around you every day and may you believe that the next miracle could be yours.

- Carole Anne Scott