New goals & new dreams

Proverbs 24:30-34

“I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.  I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”

In the U.S.A., we have two groups a person does not talk about critically unless among good friends.  They are children and those who have retired from working from the job market.  Now I’m not about to talk about children, I’m not that brave, but since I am of the “retired” group, mostly “tired,” I dare to share what this Scripture means to me.

I’ve observed that this quote is not the marching orders for most retiree’s, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” (C.S. Lewis)  It is my opinion it should be everyone’s goal, for when we quit setting goals, having new projects, dreaming new dreams, sharing our lives with others, we begin to die. 

I enjoy giving and for me to give I’ve come up with a plan; I have a vegetable garden, and a wood shop and both require me spending time working in them.  The garden only produces by how well I prepare the soil, remove the weeds, and kill the bugs, lots of bugs.  The shop requires me first to be willing to share it with others who want to learn or need help with a project.  I spend time looking for new ways to make tools and things that help me as I work on projects.  I’m always looking to build something I have never tried before, and it is often a disaster, but I’m learning and that is all good.  The end game is I get to share my life with others, and life in the full is first a relationship with Jesus Christ and then others.

I’m not sure about you, but I know folks that all they do is travel, Jan and I also did some of that for a while, but then what?   I also know people who sit and let someone else do all the work like mowing the lawn, when they could be doing it, but they only watch others do it for them.  I’ve also visited the nursing home where the forgotten people of old age are put to die.  That is sad, and something all of us hope does not happen to us.

“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”  Poverty may not be in the form of money but in your health, both your physical and mental health.

My dream is to honor my Lord, to serve others as He did and to be the best husband to Jan, dad to our daughter Natalie and her husband Byron, and our two wonderful grandsons, John Mark and Zachary David.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice