I Am Going to Miss the Bus

Woe. I awoke at 5:18 am this morning and thought, “I’m going to miss the bus.” And as the morning unfolded, I missed my Regional Transit Authority (RTA) bus from Franklin to Nashville. It turned out, it was intentional.

I hadn’t set my alarm for a reason. I retired last Thursday. I faced the facts and figured the calendar doesn’t lie. I worked for a good many years and I’m not getting any younger. I figured I was done for a lot of reasons.

Change isn’t necessarily easy. And I did miss the bus. And it’s alright.

The 4th of July holiday was one thing. I’ve done many of them. But knowing everyone is going back to work today, and I’m not seems like “Hooky.” People who have no job because of the economy know that work and a job can be a good thing. To have a job is a blessing. It is important to take care of yourself and your family. It’s important to make a contribution that is worthy of an income. It brings value.

So, here I am, retired. It’s a new status that I own. Co-workers calculate the moment with envy. It has a downside. It means you are older, that the sum of numbers has finally reached a point in life in which there is a pay-off. You are unable to buy youth with any of it. I concluded, it is simply best to take where you are and make the very most of it.

I ask myself, “What have I done?” “Will this work out?” My wonderful wife says, “We will figure it out.”

Yes, I am going to be alright. In a few days I will adjust to the new regime, find my landmarks and enjoy the journey ahead. Sure, at the moment I am a bit disoriented. I was simply in a routine where I got up early, prepared myself for the day, went to the bus stop and rode the RTA into town, went to the 6th floor of the tower and my office cubical, worked on a computer, had meetings and at the end of the day returned home by bus, ate supper, did a few chores, went to bed and did it over the next day. This pattern was entrenched by 36 years of its doing. It provided direction but I got tired.

The attached images should give you the picture of my day.


I am now going to forge a new pattern. Here’s the plan for doing it:

I have a “To-Do” list that is pages long. I am not kidding. I have put off a few things that need doing. OK, make that a lot. I have a list of things I need and want to do. My list has been prayed over. It will provide me with direction. So, with that list I am going to categorize things.

“What is urgent?”

What is important?

What can be done quickly and easily?

What are my life goals? 1 year? 3 years? 5 years? 7 years? Or whatever years remain (just in case I’m called home early).

What needs to occur daily in order to reach any of my goals? How much time is needed to tend to these things?

Then I need to organize my list and prioritize things on a daily basis, weekly basis, seasonal basis and yearly basis. All of this will put structure into my life. I need it. And so, I will give structure to my day so that I can get what I really need to get done.

Where does God fit in with each of these questions? He needs to be at every step.

Proverbs 29.18 - Without vision or guidance, people lose their way.
Proverbs 9.10 – Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 127.1 – Unless God builds the house, you labor in vain to build it.
John 15.5 – Apart from God, we can do nothing.
Ecclesiastes 9.1 – Our works are in God’s hands.