One of my readers whose conversations are always fascinating wrote and told me he retired but took a part-time job as a deliveryman so he would have something to do and remain mentally acute. He told me he didn’t need the extra money but having something to do during the week helped him mentally as compared to sitting around doing nothing. He also has a cool ministry that he and his wife run.
After forgiving my father of a lifetime of physical abuse I made a habit on every Sunday without fail of calling him. On one such call he had reached 90 years old and had been living in an assisted living home for the past several months and I cheerfully asked how he was doing.
He glumly replied: “I’m BORED!”
I asked, “Have you made any new friends?”
“No, I’ve met a lot of people and speak to them, but they are all old and BORING! I wish the Lord would just take me on home.”
I answered his depressed view of his world with silence and after an uncomfortable delay he finally asked, “How are you doing?”
I said, “I’m the opposite of bored. I can’t find enough time in the day to accomplish everything on my plate. Today, like most Sundays, I’m dead tired and thankful to get a little rest before Monday.”
His sharp retort was, “You need to retire! You can afford it.”
And my retort to that was: “Why? So I can be bored too?
It seems to me that much of the world wants to hurry up and retire. We lead active lives, work hard, save our coins and then retire to boredom and nothing more than a desire for the Lord to “take us on home”. God did not create us to be bored with a death wish. This world God created for us is fascinating with virtually unlimited opportunity for exploration and discovery, and if we are bored by it, we have only ourselves to blame.
A friend sent me the following:
Life is not a journey to the grave
with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty
and well-preserved body.
But rather to skid in broadside,
Thoroughly used up,
totally worn out,
and loudly proclaiming,
WOW !!!! What a ride!
I could not have expressed it any better if I tried for a hundred years.
I think God is disappointed when we adopt a jaded philosophy of disinterest in the marvelous things He created for His beloved children. Even though we are fallen, we can still walk with the Lord in this modified Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. He gave us this one shot at life on earth for a purpose. He wants us to live life to its fullest and He has an individually tailored plan for every single one of us. He has fully equipped us to accomplish His purpose and stands ready to assist whenever we call upon His name.
We do have to do our part though, and therein lies the problem for so many of us.
This little blue marble suspended in space by God’s own hand can and should be spellbinding, captivating, mesmerizing, enthralling, interesting, beguiling, alluring, appealing, and intriguing to the millionth power – (Any of that but not boring!)
God wants us to succeed and mightily so – I don’t think God wants anyone to fail. He and all the angels of heaven are watching and urging us onward. I can envision them clapping and shouting with gusto as they cheer us on as we race through life.
I love being around family and friends, working on my farm, observing wildlife in pristine settings,, fishing, hunting, art, guitar, special projects that will leave this place better than I found it. Not to mention church, writing Words for the Day, leading others to Christ, and helping others when I can. I’m too busy to be bored.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday.