“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” so says Marc Anthony. He's right, isn’t he? The key to loving your job is to do what you love. Sometimes that’s not possible but it surely is a worthy goal. God has placed within us the capacity for passion and when we are passionate and love our jobs they don’t even seem like jobs. When we are passionate about our jobs time flies and we have a hard time pulling ourselves away from what we’re doing. The amazing thing with a job about which you are passionate is that somebody is willing to pay you for what you love doing! This is all part of God’s grand plan for our lives. He has designed and built us with gifts, abilities, and talents to use for His glory. When we do what we were made to do we feel exhilarated, excited, and passionate. We are “in our sweet spot.”
What does all this have to do with retirement? Elsie and I launched Hopewell Counseling on September 1st of this year and we are not “spring chickens.” We have, however, dreamed and prayed about being able to open a counseling practice that would not only support us financially but be in our sweet spot. Lord willing, Hopewell Counseling will be that vehicle. Hopewell Counseling will provide us with the freedom to spend time with our children and grandchildren yet still be productive.
Although both of us are past the standard retirement age of 65 we have decided that retirement is not for us. That’s not to impugn those who choose to retire. Lord willing we will probably join you . . . in a while. We’re not ready to do that right now. Here are our reasons for the delay:
1. The Bible is silent on retirement. It isn’t mentioned so no argument for or against retirement can be built from the Bible. However, retirement probably never crossed the minds of the patriarchs or the early Christians. They had no choice but to work their whole lives to survive. Heroes of the faith such as Noah (600 years old, Genesis 7:6), Caleb (85 years old, Joshua14:10), Abraham (75 years old, Genesis 12:4), and Moses (80 years old, Exodus 7:7) actually started the great work of their lives when they were advanced in age.
2. God has gifted and called us to counsel others. God has invested us with the gifts, abilities, and education to serve the body of Christ through counseling. God has brought us through many life experiences and schooled us in the best practices in the field of counseling. Now He has called us to use what He’s given us.
3. We love what we do. Elsie and I love serving in ministry together and we love counseling. We are a team. Counseling is indeed our sweet spot.
4. We need to continue to generate income. Unfortunately we live in an economy that some are calling the “second great depression.” Counseling can help us stay afloat financially and we need the income.
5. I would get on Elsie's nerves. I saw this in my dad when he tried to retire in his late 60’s. As a type A, alpha male, he finished my mom’s “to do” list pretty quickly and got sick of playing golf or canasta with his buddies. After about one year of retirement, my mother told him, “Go start another company. You’re driving me crazy!” He took her words to heart and launched another company. The take away was that he was happiest in the last ten years with his new company than in the year of retirement where he had little to do. His new company afforded him purpose, meaning, and something to do. That lesson was not lost on me. So “hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go.”
Working heartily as for the Lord (Colossians 3:23),
Irv