A BIG Change

I once had a lady tell me that she was unhappy with how things were in her life.  I asked, "What's wrong?"  She said, "Oh, it's just the 'same ol', same ol'."  I think I understood what she was saying, and that she wanted more excitement and variety in her life.  For a few years she chased a more exciting life, and, sadly, she realized too late how great her life had been.  I have learned that when life goes along without a lot of drama, it is not such a bad thing!
We have had a lot of drama and challenges in the last few years.  Our daughter Lisa had very serious cancer that was discovered in 2014.  That was awful!  In 2015 I went to Russia and Kazakhstan with one of my Russian men from church.  It was wonderful!   Christina and I went on a flexuous trip to Florida in 2016, riding our bikes several times along the way.  It was wonderful!  At the very end of that same year I found out I had cancer myself.  Not so wonderful.  If you notice, life doesn't exactly follow a pattern.  In between the times I mentioned, life just sort of went along, giving us a chance to catch our breath.  Some of the drama that comes along, we get to choose; other stuff is put on us.
And speaking of 2014, it was a hard year!  In a space of twelve months, we had 18 funerals, and I officiated in most of them.  Our family lost a niece and a brother-in-law.  I lost 5 people from church.  Too much drama!  Too much pain.
I think that most of us would opt for just the fun stuff and forget the sickness stuff, the painful stuff, and the loss stuff, if we could.  Another cruise, another bike ride, another party, or another camping trip with friends would suit just fine, thank you!  A trip to the city to see a show!  That's the kind of drama we like.
But that is not life.  Life has its swings, its highs and lows.  Ecstasy and disappointment.  Bittersweet, a mixed bag, the good points and the bad.  You catch happiness here and there on the way by.
It's like growing old.  There are blessings and perks with age, but there sure are challenges!  But what is the alternative to growing old?  As humans, we fight tooth and nail to hang onto life, and then we complain about how our life is.  By the way, I had another glowing report from my latest blood test; <0.02 PSA!!
Now, I find my life about to take another dramatic turn.  I am going to retire at the end of April.  After ministering in churches, prayer groups, Sunday Schools, reservations, hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons, I am going to be retiring.  It is 45 years since I began my pastoral ministry.  I was 23.  God was very gracious to me then, and He still is!  I have been the pastor of four churches and assistant in two more.  Even when I was not in an official role of ministry, it seemed like God always found a place for me to be of service.

I don't know what life will look like a year from now, but I am sure that I will be working somewhere for the Lord, because whatever I do, I do for the glory of God.  I look forward to the new adventures, but I am grateful for the people God has allowed me to touch through the years.  I just hope this transition is without too much drama.  For them, and us!  A little "same ol', same ol'," please!
God bless you all.
Gil