Reluctant Retiree

A local middle school puts together a Civil War day for their eighth graders every year. One man delivers a speech dressed as and imitating Abraham Lincoln. Someone brings a Civil War Era cannon and fires blanks during another demonstration. My Vintage Baseball team talks about the beginnings of the game and the students participate in a game played under the rules and with the equipment of those days.

This event was today and I must say we witnessed some extraordinary skills today. We saw diving one handed catches by several young women. Several students showed great speed and power. But as is always the case, we saw a fair amount of awkwardness also. I felt bad for one young lady dressed in a hoop skirt. As she was running to first base, she tripped on the lengthy skirt and fell face first on the ground. The good news is that she still made it to first safely because of her good hit.

Sometimes I feel like I take a face first header while trying to do good. My intentions are sometimes misunderstood and I receive criticism. Or I don’t plan well, so the execution of the plan falters. At other times I just don’t know what I am doing. At these times it is easy to become discouraged. Self-pity raises its ugly head and I can go into an emotional slump.

At times like these it is always wise to search the Scriptures for God’s promises. Today I found this one in Psalm 145:14, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” When we are discouraged, God understands our pain. If we allow Him, He will raise us up and out of our discouragement. After all He is the same God who rescued us out of our sin and raises us up with Jesus. He redeems the lowly and humble, giving us new life in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know what discouragement you may be facing. But I do know that God in His mercy and grace can lift you up. Tell Him about your pain and watch what God will do for you.

At 1:30 this morning I was awakened by my own rapid heart beat. I had already been diagnosed with aFib (atrial fibrillation), so I knew what was happening. I tried some of the tricks to reset my heart rhythm, but nothing was working. Finally after about three hours, the rapid heart beat went away on its own. Meanwhile I had lost several hours of sleep for something I had no control over.

Atrial Fibrillation happens when the electrical signals in your heart get mixed up and begin telling your heart to beat before blood has filled the chamber. So your body parts do not receive enough blood under these conditions.

Our hearts (souls) can also send the wrong signals to our minds. Our hearts may tell us to pursue riches, prestige, and personal satisfaction. But the rewards offered by these achievements are temporary, at best, and wholly underwhelming and self-defeating at worst.

I Corinthians 9:24-25 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” Giving our time and efforts to win what the world offers, is foolhardy as the prize fades away. But offering God our efforts and time is the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that brings eternal rewards. Don’t let your heart lead you astray. Offer your best to God and reap eternal rewards.

Have you ever tried to do something a second time and in the middle of the process you forget how you did it the first time? I have done this so many times it is embarrassing to think about. I am not mechanically inclined, so every time I take on a handyman project I find that I have forgotten how to do it. What is even more embarrassing is that I forget that I needed someone else’s help to do it.

We are like that with God. He faithfully takes us through one problem after another. Then when we face a problem the second time, we have a false self-confidence that we can handle it. We have forgotten the course God took us in the first place. More importantly we forget how much we needed God’s help the first time.

In speaking to a rich young ruler who was full of self-confidence, Jesus said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Whenever we have everything that we want or think we need, we are in danger. Because it is during those times that we forget about God and how much we need Him. Nothing ever becomes so routine or mundane that we can forget that we need God’s help, grace, and power.

The last several days have been much warmer. Everything says that spring has arrived. The trees are full of leaves, each with its own display of bright color. I can hear the birds chirping throughout the day. Baby geese and ducks fill the ponds and lakes. More and more people are outside with each passing day.

To many people, spring is the season of new life. Nature seems to spring back with colors and vibrancy lost in the cold of winter. We can and do go through seasons of life. We have our periods of darkness, loss and tragedy. But we also have our times of celebration and light.

Jesus made a promise to His followers when He said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The person who trusts Jesus is therefore promised love, joy, hope, grace and peace, not just in the good times, but even when things get a bit rough. These attributes are ours not because we deserve them, but because of God’s grace toward us. If we are not experiencing these attributes then we have turned away from God in some way. Let’s stay connected to the source of the abundant life.

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, the abundant life is not yet yours. But you can have that sad situation remedied by faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. Trust Him. He will not let you down.

Have you ever said something cruel to someone and immediately felt bad about it? I sure have. What we do next says a lot about our character. If we acknowledge that we were wrong and regret our words, then our hearts are soft and we want to do the right things. However, if we deny that we were wrong and try to justify ourselves, our hearts are hard and we are just trying to feel good about ourselves.

In Luke 16:15 Jesus said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” You can be doing what brings you honor among people, but still be doing what God hates. If we are only seeking the admiration of men, we are missing the mark of what God wants us to be. He knows our hearts and cannot be misled. Our priority must be to please the God who created us and loves us with an everlasting love.