Sunday, June 14, 2015

Minding the Time

Life doesn't necessarily slow down in retirement. No, I'm not going to give you that tired old line about "I'm so busy I don't know how I ever found time to work." The truth is, work expands to fill whatever time we give it. Deadlines are not just something bosses use to beat employees over the head; they help keep us focused and on track. The problem with retirement is that without a deadline, we tend to take our time with projects that could be done more quickly and efficiently, given proper incentive. This is not to say that deadlines completely disappear; only that those that remain usually have a different feel to them. Because I don't have to be in the office at a certain time, or have a weekly sermon to prepare, I can take more time with projects, even if it's not necessary. In short, we get lazy. As a retired person, it's easy to tell myself, "I've worked hard for all these years; I deserve to slow down and kick back a little," and while that may or may not be true, the mindset is insidious.

The main problem I see with this attitude is that as a retiree, the time remaining to me is limited. More of this earthly life is behind me than before me. I find myself increasingly impatient and unwilling to waste my time. It wasn't too many years ago that I could mindlessly vegetate before the television; not so today. When the internet era burst onto the scene about fifteen years ago, I found myself wasting time I didn't really have; social media often has that same pull today. But it is full of empty promises. People comment angrily about all sorts of stuff, preaching to their particular choirs, and only occasionally saying anything uplifting. A couple years ago, I made the decision to cease passing along negative comments and posts. I'm getting to the point where I don't even bother to read most of it.

The night before last when our grandkids spent an Amish night with us was delightful. Today we worshipped together, I met with a young couple planning their wedding, had Sunday dinner, shot pistols with son Matt and a few friends from church, mopped the floor in our Cassadaga house where the baseboard system leaked, picked up the fixins' for the brake job I need to do on Linda's car, attended a media team meeting, then came home to clean the weapons. With the exception of mopping the floor and cleaning my pistols, the day was filled with people, and although I am not exactly a "people person," I know that most of what is meaningful in life involves God and others. The other stuff is just that--stuff. Shortly, I will lay my head down on my pillow, thankful for the people God has put in my life, even if I sometimes have trouble remembering their names. They are there to bless me and be blessed by me. The former has happened today; I pray the latter has, too.

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