Perspective and Priorities

Perspective

For many of us retirement often involves more travel. With no work or family pressures, we dream of finally having the time to visit exotic places we have always dreamed of. My recent visit to a beautiful northern California coastal B&B could fit that description, but that trip was more of a victory lap after a year of disability hell. In all honesty, retirement travel hasn’t really been discussed much between my husband and me because of my limitations and because he is still working. Nonetheless, our thinking has been adjusted or one could say, updated. 

Priorities

My relationship with God through Jesus has helped me adjust my priorities. Mentally, I am doing OK, some battles with frustration due to my nagging inability to get around and communicate well. I might also suffer from loneliness at times, but not mental anguish; most of that simply comes from Chris 😊. The apostle Paul provides wonderful wisdom in 2 Corinthians chapters 4 and 5 on what’s a priority for him. These verses allow correction for me on what’s important. Paul has been close to death several times at this point in his life due to his faith in God and he tussles with his purpose. He finally puts it all in perspective; he can focus on the love of Christ and make that eternal element a priority, or he can focus on his temporal troubles, money, places to go, and things to do apart from that mission in Christ. He concludes his tussle by aiming his discourse and heart on faith in Jesus. He says that since Jesus died for all of us, we no longer need to live for ourselves but for “Him who died and rose again on our behalf.” Eternal life with Christ and helping others is the “road” Paul decides to travel. I like that pathway as well, that perspective. Like all of us, I struggle to make THAT perspective a priority.

Keeping a Perspective and Alex

So I am keeping my perspective which if bathed in prayer and meditating on God’s word in the scriptures is kept on the right road and fueled by purpose. If I can travel to a few exotic places, I will be blessed and I look forward to those adventures. But I need to keep Jesus first and foremost and maybe focus on shorter less thrilling trips that involve relationships. Like meeting in Alex. Recently, we took a short side trip to keep things in perspective; it was important for me to connect with my youngest son so on a Friday I asked Chris to text our son and set up a half-way rendezvous in Alex. I was queried by Chris as to why the trip and my answer was centered on keeping perspective—what’s important. It was important for no particular reason except that I needed to see him. 

Confession: Skipped Church and Headed to Alex

The entire state of Minnesota separates my home in North Dakota on the eastern border from my son’s apartment near the eastern border of Minnesota. We have taken countless trips across Viking country on I-94 and there is a convenient refueling (gas and coffee) city called Alexandria (aka Alex) at the midpoint. So, we escaped Grand Forks late Sunday morning, skipping church and instead worshipping on the freeway. It was a beautiful day, sunny, with the pancake-flat ND prairie changing to rolling prairie MN with a few more trees. We met at a taphouse in Alex, drank coffee, raspberry tea, and soda, ordered burgers and fries, and caught up with our son. Oh, and the Packers pulled out a win on the big screens against perennial rival Chicago with a walk-off field goal  . . . miss . . . by the Bears. The Vikings were on the screens too but we hate them.

Reflection

We spent only an hour and a half at the establishment, and then we went west, and he went east and that was that. But it was so good to just be with each other. I thought of my recent trip to California and seeing exquisite ocean coastal beauty and relaxing for three solid days. But this seven-hour journey for 1.5 hours of connection time was more precious. Perspective that comes from the heart, a heart full of love because Jesus first loved me—that’s a good day. We drove home those two-plus hours completely at peace, riding into a vibrant autumn-orange sunset that was speaking to us, reinforcing in our spirits the value and power of perspective.