Growing in Faith

Stepping into Retirement Time

We have before us the Al-Ghazali conundrum. The 12th century Persian philosopher asks us to imagine a man coming out of the desert. He trusts his camel to lead him to water and now he sees that his trust was not misplaced. Palm trees beacon him to come closer and he can almost hear the oasis singing in the heat of the day. But when he arrives, he encounters a challenge the likes of which he has seldom faced. Two identical dates are before him and both are perfect in every way. He has a strong desire for both of them, but only one can be taken. The other must be left behind. It is not fate. They are identical twin sisters and to go out with one, puts the other off limits (QED in duplicate). But how do you choose which one will be your date? Reason won’t help.

Read This and Be Pierced

Yes, there are things that need to be done when I retire (clean out the shed, sort out things in the basement storage closets, get the yard back into shape), but job one on the to-do list is reading. Now, it will take some relearning to read like a normal person. Imagine reading without a sermon deadline! Imagine reading without looking for a good story to steal! Imagine reading without a pen in hand so that I can zoom in on what was important on that page (and remember where that page was!). Let me be honest—it is going to be an odd feeling at first, all booked up, but no sermon to write. And yet, I am sure I will get used to it. As for other changes that will feel ever so odd, I will never get used to them! But books, well, that is a different story.