Is it as hard for you as it is for me to get back into the “routine?” Did the holidays stress you out, and do you find yourself needing a vacation from the “vacation?” I experienced that yesterday as I wheeled my sister through mazes of parking lots to three venues yesterday, and to tell the truth, I felt every bone in my body and every sinew. A few observations. In two of the venues, I could not access handicapped parking. In two doorways, non-operating door openers meant I was holding a door with one hand, pushing the heavy wheelchair-occupant, and finding ledges that caught the wheels of the chair and were seemingly insurmountable. I can’t imagine why the Palm Bay tax office is not handicapped accessible!
That aside, my “head” is filled with “gotta-do’s” this week. My calendar is full. It’s like the “after-the-holidays schedule is attacking!
It’s doing the same thing on another whole level to my teacher-kids. They’ve had two days back and now they journey to Tampa for All State. While they are eager to meet with their colleagues from Florida, attend concerts (one of which our granddaughter gets to give after two days of vigorous rehearsal), and learn from seminars and presentations, they will return on the weekend needing a “vacation!” Gone will be the days of free schedules, catching up on home-things, and keeping hours not conducive to working weeks, and workdays and busy evenings will take a toll on their bodies and minds. And so life goes on.
We’ll remind ourselves, even in retirement, to keep schedules reasonable, to rest well when the occasions allow, and to seek refreshment in the few moments of joy, laughter, music, answered prayer, and leisure. We must seek a reasonable balance. Sure, I remind myself as I look at my desk calendar. Dottie’s appointments (we have to go back because she forgot (or maybe does not have) her birth certificate and social security card necessary to establish her residency in Florida), her glasses appointment, her shopping; then, my book club meeting, a dentist appointment (oh, joy), breakfast with the Magnolias, small group meeting, and visiting a friend in rehab. That’s just this week! Besides that, I have typing to do for my You Are Unique memoir group which also began meeting this week. Oh, and there are two funerals at Covenant this week, too. But, it’s not about us! We are blessed to be a blessing in each of our encounters with others, for each is an opportunity to share God’s love, and many may be divine appointments He has prepared for us.
Here’s to getting back into routine, and saying, “Thanks, Lord, for the privilege of living life to the fullest and enjoying every minute of service to you and others and the strength to accomplish the routines that make life interesting and rewarding. And may the enrichment of prayer time for our kids’ travel and Sherry’s time in Thailand be the ointment of refreshment we need. Lest we forget, how could we, that God guides our appointments, our very breath, and presents challenges and blessings in good measure so that we are aware of His presence and the strength He provides.
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