Are You A Dreamer Or A Repeater?

     The first book on my reading list for the summer has been, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.   It is a phenomenal book on prayer.  It has already increased my faith just by reading it.

     In the book Batterson suggests that as we age we "stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory."  He says, "We stop creating the future but start repeating the past."  As I have watched people age I have witnessed many people telling the same stories over and over again, both the accomplishments of the past as well as the failures.  Rarely, however, do I see the elderly continuing to dream and imagine what the future could be and what their part in it could be.  This is the key to aging!  We have to continue to dream and imagine!

     For some time I have been thinking about what retirement will look like for me.  I know that I can't crawl under tables doing bear hunts with five-year-olds forever!  I told myself that I would never retire until I have another plan in place.  Well, the other day at a party and in the middle of the night, God told me.  He gave me the next book I am going to write and where I will volunteer.  I now have a dream, even though it is several years away.

     Life may throw challenging situations our way, such as disease or physical limitations, but we can continue to imagine and dream.  God will always have an assignment for us.  We just may have to do it differently than we would have before.

     I know in my later years I don't want to be the person that repeats the same stories from the past over and over again.  I would rather be the dreamer living out what God wants me to do next.

"You're never too old to go after the dreams God has put in your heart."  Mark Batterson

The Later Years

    I sure have missed blogging the last several weeks.  I was busy finishing up the school year and helping a loved one that was in the hospital for three weeks.  Life always seems to be full of new situations, experiences and lessons.

     Bill and I have served in special needs ministry for a lot of years but now we are in a stage of learning about the challenges of the elderly.  Like with children you think you are going to learn a lot from the first child and those lessons will be helpful with the second but in reality, the children are going to be so different that many of the lessons learned won't apply.  It seems to be true with your parents as well.  The later years of each of our parents have all been so different. We have had to learn to navigate them but all in different ways.

     As I am walking this road, my own process of aging becomes apparent.  How do I age gracefully?  How do I continue to make a difference?  How do I prepare to continue to contribute even though I may have to continually change its form?  What adaptations need to be made?  As I have shared with many friends, you can still do the same things,you just may have to do them differently.

     Over the next several weeks I will be sharing about some of the challenges the elderly face.  I look forward to walking this journey with you.