A Man of Restless Leisure

It has been a year since I posted anything in this blog. I retired from the PC(USA) and, by default, I retired from writing in this blog.

This past year has been depressing, restful, and spiritually enriching. Perhaps a good structure for this post would be to try to explain what I mean by those three terms.

The depressing part is the naturally feeling of loss experienced when one leaves a lifelong work. In my case depression is my default emotional setting, so this loss is but one more in a long line of losses. I simple to collect regrets as one might collect watches or stamps. Collecting losses is one of my most active hobbies.

The sadness I feel is accentuated in that I not only retired from service to a denomination I have served for thirty five years, but I was shut out from ever serving another congregation as an interim or stated supply. I have written about this action in a previous posting. I transferred my membership to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. This is a much better fit for me. So far this year I have preached seven times in Gulfport, MS. Apparently my marketability as a supply preacher is rather low. It is doubtful I will preach again for the rest of this year. Yet I am hopeful. If God wills, I will preach again.

Restful: This lack of work has made me a man of leisure. I have married myself to the routine of the house, yard, and swimming pool. I also am a handy last minute babysitter when one of my three (nearby) grandchildren can’t attend their usual daycare facility. Child care is a labor of love for me. With more time, I thought it would improve my billiard game, but it has had the opposite result. Today I quit the pool league I have participated in for ten years. My play is so bad I became a detriment to the win/loss record of my team. Now I have even more time to do whatever it is I do.

Spiritually Enriching: I am learning, yet again, to place more and more of my trust in God. I keep praying that God will see fit to use me again as a preacher and He has been gracious in His assurance that whatever each day brings, He is Lord of that day. Reading Calvin’s exposition on the Lord’s Prayer he reminds me that it is only a daily bread that is promised. His provisions come new every morning. When retirement caused an old routine to dissolve I was forced to renew my appreciation for Divine faithfulness measured on in daily portions.

I read as much now as I did when I prepared a weekly sermon and bible lesson. In fact, I read far more devotionally than I did before I retired. I have read all four volumes of Calvin’s Institutes, the entire Bible, and two books by Augustine, plus a dozen more books on various subjects.

My relationship with Terri (my wife) has greatly deepened. We grow more and more in love each day. August the 10^th marks our 40^th anniversary.