A New Year

It’s the first day of a brand new year and while I tend to believe that New Year’s Day is a great time to assess one’s direction in life, I’m wondering if I’m in the right place to do it.  I’m sitting on my mother-in-law’s screened patio in Florida; the temperature is around 74 degrees.  Meanwhile, the temperature at our home in Idaho is around 17 degrees.  We have been away from home for almost 2 weeks; we spent Christmas with our daughters in North Carolina.  For these reasons I feel rather removed from my life in Idaho.  Perhaps that can be helpful in looking ahead.

We spent time in the middle of the lives of our twenty-something daughters and are now with relatives in their nineties—such different perspectives on life.  Our daughters are at the beginning of their adult lives and our elderly relatives, while at the end of their lives, are not done living.  What’s important in life?  The way we view life changes over time.  Our daughters are always in a hurry—there’s an impatience to get where they are going.  The elders have all the time in the world—and yet they don’t.  And what about me?

I find it hard to consider myself a senior citizen although I am over sixty or to call myself retired even though I am not working.  I have never been good about planning for the future but perhaps it is time to do it.  I know I won’t live forever.

We can get by on my husband’s pension but extra money would be helpful.  However, if I work that would limit travel and volunteer activities.  My husband is in his seventies and interested in doing some traveling.  We can’t wait until he’s 80.  I find fulfillment in my community activities.  What is important?

My mother-in-law questioned why I am in a hurry to go home.  (My husband is staying a week longer.)  She suggested that whatever responsibilities I have, others can do them.  On the other hand, in a recent conversation with a retired pastor, I told him that I have considered job hunting but he insisted that what I’m doing is important.  I feel it is, too.

I am grateful to have choices.  These life decisions hinge on who we are and what matters most in our lives.  For some people, retirement means travel, family, and new activities—they do what makes them happy.  What matters most to me?  Family and friends are important to me.  I look forward to traveling to experience new places.  I have hobbies I enjoy.  However, I know that I need more.

My faith dictates how I live.  For my life to have meaning, I need to do my best to bring light, love, and justice into this world.  How can I not?  I got arrested for civil disobedience because I believe discrimination is wrong.  I started a coalition to work on this with like-minded people of faith.  I can’t stop now.  There is more to do.  I want to make a difference in the world around me.  It’s what God calls me to do.

So, what will I do in 2015?  I see the year as an adventure stretching out before me.