Had I Known………

The old saying goes: Had I known I was going to live this long……..I would have taken better care of myself.

I love a good joke, and one of my favorite things that I have always dreamed of is a final joke of putting these words on my tombstone. “I Told You I Was Sick!”. Of course, if I precede Vicki she will be the one who tells them what to put on the stone. I may not get my wish.

But on a serious note, and reflecting on my last post, I truly do wish I had taken better care of myself. 60 will be here all too soon and a life of running as fast as I could go has taken it’s toll on me. Not just work mind you, but things like my late teens and early twenties when I abused drugs with a vengance. Things like not learning to say no to the many requests of people who needed help with this and that.

It’s time for me to slow down. This afternoon I climbed up and down a stepladder about 2oo times while putting roofing on an overhang I’m building off the garage. My feet hurt, my ankle hurts and in the morning I really will pay for my actions today. I probably never will retire, as there is just too much work to do. But I have to learn to do it slower.

I know that there is no retirement from ministry. I have always been a firm believer that when one is called, he never retires. If he can retire, then it was not a ministry, but was a vocation. I know many will argue with me on that, but I have yet to see a scripture that speaks of retirement from ministry.

A slower pace. Yup. Thats what I need.

Blessings!