The Transition Begins

March 30, 2012 - One of the things I have learned to value is perspective. As I look back over my life it is clear to me that many things haven't always been what they seemed to be.

I will explain what I mean by telling you a story about a country boy and his father. This boy and his father had never ever been to the city, but one day they decided to take a trip to Atlanta. Their first stop was a big shopping mall and they were amazed by almost everthing they saw. They were especially intrigued by two shiny, silver walls that moved apart and back together again. The boy asked his father "what is that?"

The father, having never seen an elevator responded, "son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I have no idea what it is!" And while they were watching wide eyed, a very, very old woman walked up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady walked into this small room. Then the walls closed and the boy and his father watched as the small circles of light with numbers above the wall lit up. They continued to watch and the circles of light started moving in the reverse direction. And when the walls opened again, a beautiful 24 year old woman walked out. 

The shocked father said to his son....."Quick, go get your mother!"

My point? It would be nice to have a magic elevator. But as I said, many things in my life haven't always been what they seemed to be. Sometimes my elevator has gone up and sometimes down, and believe me, I've dealt with my share of surprises. And after 65 years of trying to make some sense of this thing called life, a few things have come into focus. At this point in my journey, I am convinced that:

1. God is in control, even when it seems that most times He seems silent.

2. God is very fond of me, in spite of my pathetic attempts to control my life.

3. God graced me with a good wife; she is more precious than jewels.

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"AH-HA" Moment - One of things I'm hoping to do during retirement is document everyday routines, like this.....

I love morning routine. Mine goes something like this. At 6am I roll out of bed, automatically stumble into the bathroom and turn on the lights, exhaust fan and shower. While the shower water heats up I brush my teeth, and after a 2 ½ minute shower and a 15 second towel dry I turn on the hair blower. Lately about 40 seconds will dry what little hair is left up there.

Question. Did you ever have an “ah-ha” moment that shakes you out of routine? Mine happened this morning. When I turned on the hair blower, I could hardly feel any air. I tried turning the hair blower off and on again – even banged it on the sink. No luck. And then I saw it. Although the blower was running normally, the front screen was almost completely clogged with dust and crud. Now I’m sure the air has been slowing down for some time, but I hadn’t noticed until this morning. Anyway, I grabbed my toothbrush and cleaned the dust and lint from the screen. And when I turned the blower back on, the wind shear almost took off my head!

I immediately stopped my routine and thought about a story that I read a while back. It was a story about an old couple - simply enjoying being alive, and relishing the joy of their simple relationship. I couldn't remember details, but did recall that they were dancing together.

So, I walked across the hall from our bathroom to my bookshelf and pulled John Ortberg’s book “The Me I Want To Be”.

In his book, John Ortberg describes his “ah-ha” moment. It happened during a wedding reception for his niece Courtney when they had a dance for married folks, in which they eliminated couples from the dance floor based on the length of their marriage. Courtney and her new husband were the first off of the dance floor. Finally, there was only one couple left, and they had been married fifty-three years.

“Everybody watched them dance but the couple only watched each other. They danced with joy, not in the skill of their dancing, but in the love they radiated for each other. And when the dancing ended, the master of ceremonies turned to Courtney and her new husband and said, “Take a good look. Your task now is to live and love together in such a way that fifty-three years from now - that will be you. That dance is your dance. Now it begins.”

Guess he's right. It is easy to get hung up on the routine of so many distractions in life.  Like time spent worrying about what I will never do or haven't achieved....you know, stuff that gets in the way of simply living the dance.

Man, I really want to simply focus on loving my wife, caring for my kids and grandkids and seriously engaging with that person standing in front of me. That is my dance and I really want to keep my life simple!  As I left the house this morning my prayer was, "Lord, thank you for being in control of my life for 72 years; thank you for being very fond of me in spite of my pathetic attempts to control my life, and for gracing me with a good wife; she is more precious than jewels.

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Anyway, here is a quick snapshot of my story....

And, I am done workin!  Well, maybe not. Continue by clicking the next tab above. An oh, a quick update as of 2016 - Moses Daniel Antioho was born which makes our grandkid count an even dozen and we are now married 47 years.