My sister and I giggled over our grade school graduation photos with our activities and goals for the future printed next to the photos. One of my sister’s hobbies was said to be horseback riding, even though she had never ridden a horse. She wanted to ride horses, but she hasn’t to this day.
“Her future plans are undecided,” the text declared; neither one of us had a clue. Yes, we were only 13 years old, but others had big plans, and some were no doubt achieved.
My sister is now a skilled portrait artist, had worked in college financial aid for years, raised three well-adjusted children, and is a delightful individual. I worked in IT for a dozen years, raised three children, taught the Bible for many years, and am now writing.
I had my share of identity crises in high school. Who am I, I wondered. Personality, handwriting and aptitude tests weren’t much help. My family was loving and trustworthy, I had good relationships with friends, and I was a decent student, but I was struggling to work out my identity.
Maybe I was immature and/or not terribly forward thinking, and it took me a while to know who I was and what I wanted to do, and even then, it’s still a work in process. God was working in and through me, whether I knew it or not, and eventually, I became more fully myself.
There is a lot of emphasis on self-actualization in our society today, and I understand that many don’t know who they are, just as I didn’t know who I was. We learn who we are through our relationships, community, work, ups and downs in life, and faith. For me, getting to know God was most helpful. The more I learned about who God is the better idea I had of who I am.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
Retirement gives us the chance to ask ourselves serious questions about who we were, who we have become and more importantly who we want to become. It’s not too late, for in God’s timing it’s never too late. As I’ve written before, most of us have decades left to live when we retire, and there is still purpose for us.
“God’s presence in us is like the fire in the Burning Bush. It gradually takes over, so that although we remain fully ourselves, we are being made over into our true selves, the way God originally intended us to be.” *
- Frederica Mathewes-Green
When Moses saw the burning bush, he thought it strange that the bush was on fire but never burned up. The bush remained fully itself, its form hadn’t changed, but the fire occupied it completely. So it is with our lives. We remain entirely ourselves, but the Spirit of God takes up residence in us and makes us into who he intended us to be.
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.
How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24
I believe that God is most interested in the state of our hearts and no matter what we choose on the outside he will eventually get us to be who he created us to be on the inside. I don’t know how he does it. We make plans, or maybe we don’t as in my case, but the Lord directs our steps. It’s a mystery.
Spend some time thinking about who you were and who you have become, and God may give you some ideas about who you might become. It’s no accident that you have gained the exact amalgamation of skills, knowledge and experience that you need for your next endeavor. What could it be?
If you are dealing with health issues, family challenges, financial hardships, or are still resting and figuring out retirement, just keep those thoughts in mind. There may come a time when God has something that he wants you to do. You might be surprised.
God’s work in us is a process, and it goes on for our entire lives. Retirement gives us the opportunity to open ourselves up to what he has given us, how we can use it, who we have become, and what he wants to teach us. It’s not the time to call it quits.
What were your goals as a high school student? (It may be good for a chuckle.) How have your goals changed? How have you changed?
Who do you intend to be in this next stage of your life?
*Quoted in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey with the Daily Office by Peter Scazzero, p. 51
Judy, I wore my hair just like yours when I was 13 - same glasses, too! I finally got contact lenses at 20. Back then, I could only imagine being a teacher, as there seemed to be no other career options available to me. (Not nursing, for which I had no aptitude whatsoever.). The burning bush analogy (consumed yet still fully itself) is a new thought for me - thank you1
Thank you! "God's presence in us is like a burning bush...."- very impactful and thought provoking post! As a side note I have many pictures of myself in pink and blue glasses; I needed two glasses because one pair was always broken (no surprise there- lol). My nephew asked me if I had any friends; thankfully my friends probably looked the same and were not judging me. Life is a journey and so powerful to know God is with us always.