Now What?
“Nothing happens unless first we dream” — Carl Sandburg, American Poet
A few years back, while vacationing in Trinidad, California, a local friend of ours named Barbara invited us over for wine, cheese and some catching-up. As our conversation wandered from one topic to another — in the random way such things go — we stumbled onto the subject of retirement. Barbara, who is a bit older than us, was already semi-retired and looking forward to stopping work soon. As she shared out loud her hopes and dreams, she began describing her new phase of life as the “3rd Act”.
I’m not exactly cultured in performing arts, but even so, I surprised myself and quickly understood that she was relating a person’s golden years to Act 3 of a stage play. Gasp! My mind was suddenly flooded with deeply troubling questions. Isn’t Act 3 also known as the Final Act? Had that much life already passed us by? Were Lois and I rapidly approaching our own 3rd Act? As we celebrate this month our newly found retirement, that conversation with Barbara in Trinidad once again echos in my mind.
Strike up the orchestra, raise the curtain, turn on the lights! The 3rd Act begins, but what do we do now?
Good news — Lois and I do have ideas! Slowly but surely, we have been relearning how to dream big and make new plans. And in doing so, we lean into God’s promises such as:
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” — Jeremiah 29::11
Lois and I have also learned the practical reality of this verse:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. — Proverbs 13:12
So back to that question… Now what? Here are some of the dreams we are working on::
This month, we are flying one-way to New Zealand and boarding a 6 week cruise taking us to Austrailia, the South Pacific, and Hawaii, ending in Vancouver, British Columbia (watch this blog space for updates, photos and stories!).
What would it look like to buy a Motorhome and do some full-time RV living, touring the US and Canada for 2-3 years?
In the longterm, we would like to move near the coast to a cooler, climate friendly environment.
So here is the challenge. Carl Sandburg, the American Poet, said “Nothing happens unless first we dream”. So dreaming we are, and trusting God we must as we enter into the 3rd Act.
