Redecorating is an ongoing business, it seems. Houses in our neighborhood are being built at a fast pace. It seems everyone wants to move to Florida. If houses are not being built from scratch, they’re being “refreshed,” or become fixer-uppers as people try to eek out every bit of space they can within four walls.
Summertime is a good time to reevaluate our lives, too. It’s a good time to reevaluate how we’re living. Is there “stuff” we haven’t used in a while that someone else could use? Are there hobbies we no longer pursue, but the remnants remain stashed in closets or burdening storage units? Is there a need for organizing, or for eliminating?
Ev and I have lived in this house for fifteen years. It was new, built for our retirement. This is the longest we’ve been in one place in our 53 year marriage. The rule was, when we downsized (we’ve done this in our ten moves through the years) that when we brought home something new, something else had to go.
Well, we’ve gotten lax about that. We now have our Chinese chest filled with games we haven’t played for years. We have tablecloths that do not fit the table we purchased for this house. Why? We have dishes we haven’t used because our house is too small for the entertaining we used to do. In face, we resort to paper plates in our informal lifestyle. We have clothes we could easily discard. Everything is less formal in Florida. You get the picture.
Then, as I think spiritually about it, we could clean house too. Covid taught us we could worship livestream and listen to podcasts and discussions instead of attending meetings. We do still attend live services of worship, but our small group meets on Zoom. I no longer have to disrupt the house by putting leaves in the table and rounding up ten or twelve chairs. And we’re not adding to traffic on congested streets or dodging thunderstorms. We’ve added members in Ohio and Texas, and RV’ers who are traveling. See, we can learn new tricks, even as “old dogs.”
We listen to Christian music as we drive. There’s a great Orlando station. Their slogan is: “safe for the little ears in the back seats.” We are infusing our lives with music about Christ. It keeps us more patient as drivers try to ruin our days and make us a bit testy or anxious. Running errands is a bit more pleasant when we’re hearing words of assurance and tapping our fingers to a praise song.
Some things never change, and should not. As we age, sometimes gracefully, sometimes not, we know we can count on eternal principles we’ve relied on all our lives. Here’s a good one for today. This one needs no renovation or change, whatever our circumstances:
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then, you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
That’s the best picture of evaluating past, present, and future, and it’s always in style for the Christian.
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