Serve by Design

I stood in the driveway of Dad’s auto repair shop the day he confronted a gentleman representing the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Dad informed the man he was not interested in any such membership even though the fellow said it would only cost around $5.00 for three years. Dad ended the conversation that day by saying, “I’ll give you the five dollars if you’ll get off my driveway. I’ve got work to do!” Floating in the Dead Sea! Image credit: pixabay.com That terse response may have been what further emboldened Dad’s lifetime attitude about aging, “I ain’t old!” And he meant it! He was still showing up at the shop on this ninety-fourth birthday when I pulled up to get him to head out to our favorite restaurant for a barbecue baby back rib dinner! Over the years, we had used his birthday and mine as an annual occasion for such a celebration! I just celebrated my seventy-fifth birthday over a recent weekend that included some of my other favorites that I don’t get too ...

It has been an interesting week celebrating a new beginning and accepting a needful closure. First, the celebration. Our oldest granddaughter just officially became an adult earlier this month and has begun to take general study classes at the community college. I was blessed to take her to the first day of classes and then retrieve her at the end of her day. She shared her excitement and jitters on the way and was full of stories on the way back home. I enjoyed the one-on-one time with this smart and beautiful grandchild as she officially begins her new chapter as a college first-year student. I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about the future of these Gen Z grands! Image: vecteezy.com The closure mentioned earlier is about me. I have decided to retire as a workplace chaplain. For seven years now, I have enjoyed my weekly service in a local senior living facility, calling and connecting with truck drivers from a major food distribution company, and many other special assignments...

During a recent sermon on grief, our pastor mentioned something that I have been thinking about lately. He said, "Many of us grieve over an accumulation of losses in our lives." This past year, Monique and I have lost several of our Texas friends. Another precious one passed a couple of weeks ago. This is number four by my count. Each of these friends has left an indelible influence on our lives. As the pastor observed, I feel like there has been a heavy accumulation of grief and loss in the last couple of years. We knew this was bound to occur. After all, we are getting older, too! But, the frequency of loss over a relatively short duration of time has been surprising.  In my personal reflections, I took to the computer keyboard to make a list of some of the specific losses. At the top, I thought of the loss of my mother who passed two years ago on July 17th. Then, there was the grief over a church conflict in March 2019. Added to this was the diagnosis of prostate cancer in...