3 Themes For A Successful Walkabout

My notebook has over 13,000 words spread across 31 pages, and I’m just beginning, but I need an "end" in mind if I’m going to make sense of the hundreds of ideas that are keeping my cortex buzzing. One of my mentors asked me, "what are your key themes that unite these topical areas?" as he reviewed the Table of Contents that forms the backbone of the writing project. How am I supposed to know my destination when I’m just now beginning to accumulate plot points for the map?

But isn’t that the story of life? And isn’t that a conundrum for retirement planning in general? It would be a lot easier to manage our finances if we, in planning vernacular, knew when our plan will end. All we can do is plan a course of writing, keep our erasers handy, and nurture a sense of humor. God is smiling upon this project, even giggling at times, so I might as well be prepared to laugh along with Him.

With that, I declare my themes for Retirement Walkabout." Laugh alongside me, nudge me a bit so I wander in the right direction, and we’ll see where we end up down the road.

First, planning for retirement is best done in the company of others. People should seek mentors who are able to help you find God’s unique plan for your life. Mentors should also provide encouragement to enable you to be flexible in implementing this plan amidst unforeseen events that will shape your retirement years. While part of me knows this advice is even older than the concept of discipleship, part of me realizes that I’ve never once heard this advice given to someone facing retirement.

Second, when your time is your own and as you graduate down the road of life toward a glorious sunset, it is increasingly clear that relationships trump achievements. Some of the best advertisements in the world are underwritten by giant financial companies with incredible, to the point of appalling, advertising budgets. A recent ad asks what would you do if you were paid to do anything you want? Isn’t that, almost by definition, retirement? If you could do whatever you wanted from now until the day you die, and didn’t need to worry about working to provide for your basic needs, would you continue to strive for recognition by others? Keep working to increase the size of your inheritance? Or focus on improving the quality of relationship with the people whom God has put in your life?

Finally, moving into the cushy life of retirement – if that is, in fact, what you choose to do – does not change the natural law of faith. You must continue to exercise your faith muscle, even throughout retirement. Muscles get weak if not used. Do you really want to have a faith crisis as the end of your life nears? Time on the golf course, on the ski slope, or even on the Seniors weight lifting circuit does not typically strengthen your faith muscle. For spiritual health, retirees need to plan on taking leaps of faith, hopefully every day of every year, whether you go to the workplace each morning or not. How have others prepared for this reality in their retirement planning? How will you?

While there are many directions this conversation can take, my guess is that we will keep returning to these three key concepts. Whether we’re talking about health issues, faith issues, or how you spend your money, time or energy, these themes will be at the core of what’s important. From the early stages of planning, through the course of our daily disciplines, until our end time fruits are passed on as a legacy, these key ideas will enable us to make our post-employment years the most productive years of our lives.

We need to begin with the end in mind. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us?