Keeping the boat afloat

Sometimes I worry a little bit about retirement. God “finally” gave me peace about it not too long ago (as if it were God who was waiting 🙂 ! ) But really, it’s hard to imagine cutting back, it will be even harder then, I imagine! (Sometimes I do a lot of imagining ;-). I want to “blog” about my friend, John. I know a man who is almost 70, whose existence depends, monetarily, almost all on Social Security. He does nothing else for sustenance except handyman work, which is sporadic. But, boy, can he manage money. He just bought a boat. A big boat with a cabin underneath, like you could go on the ocean cruising on it practically. Not a yacht…but, wow. To have such a firm grip on your goals, and be able to have such self-discipline and know how to handle money so well that you put away your spare change for however many years and buy a boat…plus the SUV to tow it, and whatever else he will need. I’m sure he’ll have to put more money into it in the future. On Social Security and handyman’s jobs! Wowza. Don’t really have a point for this post, the one person I know who probably needed it is not a follower of mine on social media :-). But I just find it so extraordinary that someone with so little money, who shops for meat only in what he calls the “gray meat” section of the grocery aisles, can buy this big boat! Such determination! He had to pay a little more for it than he had planned. I told him at least it’s not a money pit like a house. He said, oh you haven’t heard the saying of people who boat! What’s the definition of a boat? It’s a big hole in the water that you keep throwing money into :-). He has been like a fish out of water for years since he sold his last one. Now, “we” can throw that fish back in the water… and watch him go! 🙂

Voyage to the Future

As I begin to age, yes I said begin :-), I start to pay closer attention when people start talking about what they will do when they retire. I have friends who are already there, who are in different situations. Different “boats,” so to speak ;-). Which brings me to my thought of the moment. Thinking how retiring on a cruise ship (people do that, you know, CBS did a special on it – you can Google it), I am thinking, God would probably not be happy with me doing that. He is not retiring me from service, whether or not the income from an employer ceases. That is probably not what He intends for me to do with the rest of my life – just enjoy it. (?) Well, they say “bloom where you are planted.” I could bloom where I plant myself right? I could minister to the cruise ship staff, right? And the customers, and the other retirees on board :-). We would have to “liquidate,” of course. That gives a whole new meaning to the word “liquidate” – get it!? Do cruise ships ever dock and you have to leave? Where would you go in between cruises? I suppose you could rent out your house, and hope you get good tenants to take care of it. And of course you couldn’t do it if you had severe health issues, even the x-rays and doctors on board couldn’t take the place of a specialist if you needed one. So many questions! So many enticing thoughts, too, though! It also gives a new meaning to the phrase “Sunset Cruise,” doesn’t it? As in, “Sunset Cruise…Destination: Final Voyage Home!” Just dreaming. We will be taking our first cruise later this year. I knew it would give me something to look forward to and think about all year!

Second to none… Well, okay… maybe I’m 3rd or 4th or even further down the line!

I am amazed at my spirit of competition sometimes. As a young singer, I learned that the best way to get over my feelings of jealousy when other singers got a part I wanted, was to become their friend, and then I loved them & didn’t care so much if they got something I wanted. I learned to see that for certain parts & roles, they were just better suited than I was! And now I find that old Rascal Jealousy coming back, in a simple online game called Design Home. If one of my designs falls short of the mark, it still upsets me – sometimes more than others. Why? Is it an assault on my ability, or my value as a human? Sometimes, I have to accept still, other people’s work is just better than mine! Maybe they spent more money on it (or any money, as I play for free), or more time, or just simply had better taste than I did in that situation :-). Learning to accept a secondary role or place in life can be hard for some of us. And learning that just because we took second place (or 3rd or 4th) doesn’t mean that we aren’t valuable, or our opinions and viewpoints aren’t valuable… This is another lesson I am still needing to learn. So silly, how these things keep popping up throughout our lives. “Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free, tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.” A wonderful old song, a wonderful old truth!

Everything is not awesome

Things are happening in this world that we cannot understand. My heart is broken for things happening in my life and in the lives of my friends, but more, for fear of what might happen to me and my friends in the future, things that are happening to others right now. And I am reminded, that out of the abundance of God’s goodness He will provide for His people. (Jer. 31:14). We see as we wish to see, but He sees as it is. And He is in the midst of everything always. I can trust Him with my life and with the lives of my friends. But it’s not like it is in our dreams, or as in a cartoon movie’s song, “Everything Is Awesome”… everything is not awesome! Then my God reminds me He is not about fixing the woes of the world without fixing men’s hearts. Their broken lives are things He can weave together in a pattern of good, but their hearts must be changed before they can come into His kingdom. When we go on our own we will not be contented, but when we live our lives with Him, He will satisfy us, we will be full.

The second half of life (or, Finish Strong!)

I’m thankful for the second half of life…not that I have a “whole half” left :-). We never know that (well, okay, I know I don’t have a whole half left…I can do the math 😉 ). But looking back, we have so many things to be thankful for, and still so many dreams yet unfinished. So I am thankful for a new start. I don’t know where it will take me, but I have finished mourning the past…what has been, and what never was… and I am looking forward to enjoying both what is now, and what will be. Happy Thanksgiving, “y’all” !