I spent some time in last week's blog focusing on the fact that after 20 years of research on our Florida mission field, I came to one conclusion: the American dream of retirement is a lie. However, today, I'm not going to focus on the negative. Today, we will focus on the reality that there is explosive potential inside the hearts, minds, and souls of retired Christ followers in this country. As of today, over 45 million believers are living in retirement. Are they living with purpose? Are they living with contentment? Are they living feeling fulfilled and flourishing in their lives? Keep reading to find out. 

There are a lot of things that Martha and I observed in our 20-year research project in Florida. First, let me be honest with you and tell you that I did not think our time in Florida would be a 20-year research project. We moved there to find better health for Martha and to enjoy the incredible weather after spending most of my life in Minnesota. Was the weather great? Sure. Did Martha get healthier? Sure. Did we see contentment, fulfillment, and flourishing in our retired neighbors and friends? Nope. 

I promised in my last blog that I would finish the story of what we observed in our neighborhood once we realized that it was one of our mission fields. Martha and I determined that we wanted to help our 30-home neighborhood to be a great place to live. One of us needed to head up the homeowner's association to do that. It wasn’t going to be me. I have a low tolerance for stupid and significant impatience (don’t worry, God is working on that), so Martha ran for Board Chair. She is full of grace and mercy and is incredibly full of wisdom. Part of our plan was to ensure the enforced rules were necessary but full of grace and allowed flexibility. We also got to know EVERY neighbor. We knew their names and often offered to pray for them when a need arose. We invited everyone to our home for New Year's Eve and our annual end-of-winter picnic before the snowbirds left. We started fixing things that needed to be fixed in the neighborhood and often helped neighbors with minor projects at home. (Remember, we were the young people in a neighborhood full of chronologically superior folks.)  In a couple of years, the atmosphere of our community changed and when we moved to serve Martha’s folks in a different neighborhood, we cried along with many neighbors as we drove down our street to leave. Our hearts had changed, and it had impacted everyone around us.  

I truly believe that the enemy is behind the lie that the American dream of retirement is the biblical basis for retirement. I think the enemy deeply desires to destroy the family and disconnect the family from each other by creating bastions of pleasure and peace in Arizona and Florida. You see, if you can separate kids from parents and grandparents, you could influence them much more easily because they don't have anybody around them to remind them of their understanding and biblical wisdom. You are that biblical wisdom. You, the family's elders, are that bastion of knowledge, and you are desperately needed in your family and your nation. 

Martha and I have worked alongside the Retirement Reformation for several years. This organization is dedicated to helping Christ-following retirees find purpose during the retirement stages of life. Retirement is broken up into three phases. There's the active stage, where we have all kinds of energy and very few health issues and can do almost anything our hearts desire. This stage might involve a different type of work or volunteerism and may include some travel. The second stage of our retirement is the mentoring stage. Somewhere in our late 70s, we start to slow down yet our hearts, minds, and souls are filled with wisdom and so many answers from our experience that we can pour into the lives of the upcoming generations. We may not be able to run alongside them any longer, but we certainly can coach them. Just because your legs don't propel you at high speed anymore doesn't mean the experience and wisdom that God has given you isn't relevant to those in your family and your neighborhood. 

The final phase of our retirement can be labeled the sharing stage. You've lived a long life and gathered so much wisdom, experience, and frankly, some assets. In the sharing stage of retirement men and women seek to give their wisdom and wealth to others, even if it's from the recliner in the living room. 

No matter how you look at it, your retirement can be the most fulfilling years of your life. You are not bound by the 9 to 5, and you're not bound by what everybody else is doing. You have a call on your life, and God is not done with you yet. Your calling may be to go back to work. Your calling may be to start a different kind of work. Your calling may be to volunteer or even run for political office. Any way you look at it, the call on your life will be related to the talents, abilities, and spiritual giftings that God has bestowed upon you and has been enriching over your lifetime. 

In closing, put aside the notion that the American dream of retirement is the ultimate experience in Christianity. It's a lie. The ultimate experience of Christianity is pouring your life into others. You are desperately needed in the lives of those around you: your family, friends, your community. Seek the Lord in what He would have you do with the final phase of your life.

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