Road in Retirement

God is Good My last blog focused on God’s goodness in the midst of me receiving a new diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). I received the news of MSA while traveling to acquire my wheelchair (WC) accessible van. The moving parts to this journey were mind-boggling but God, our good, good God had given me words, not audible or anything but loud and clear in the spirit. I was to move on and trust him for tools, like the van, to push back on the complications of this disease. Joshua Nearing the end of his life, Joshua, Moses’ successor and understudy, offered parting words to the Israelites as they settled into their new land. Joshua said, “Not one word of all the good words which the Lord God speaks fails" (Joshua 23). A hint that God was at work in the van situation came from the A&J Mobility salesman’s reaction to my requested specifications: a blue Chrysler Pacifica with adaptive cruise, backup camera, higher roof, fully installed accessibility equipment, and fewer than...

A New Route for My Retirement Road My next two blogs are centered around the goodness of God, a new diagnosis, my fancy wheelchair (WC) and my hunt for a used WC-accessible van. I am hitting my road in retirement hard and trying to use available tools and medical helps to serve God and experience his goodness best I can. My WC and a WC van provide mobility; pretty important components of a “road in retirement” for someone like me battling Parkinson’s disease (PD). Most recently, after a spinal tap test of brain proteins, I received some interesting news; a new diagnosis.  God is Good Flooding my soul most recently is the truth of God’s goodness in leading me and Chris during this part of our life; fighting for mobility, fulfilling our purpose, and finding delight in  His Presence. These words come into my spirit: The LORD is good to all, he does good things, his mercy and goodness are forever poured out over all that He has made. Psalms 100, 119 and 145. Think about those wor...

St. Peter’s Prayer In my last blog I mentioned that the apostle Peter wrote a prayer to a group of Christ followers in Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) who were undergoing severe religious persecution. He prays that they will not complain. What? First-century persecution was ruthless and without judicial guidelines that our modern-day society would demand and expect. It seems harsh. One of the definitions of complaining is to lament; often a heartfelt expression of true emotional pain. The Bible is full of laments. To be honest, there are times that I can see how uttering the negative dark truth, pain or difficulty of a matter, might help us vent septic emotions, leading to a more peaceful homeostasis. Broadening his prayer to us, Peter seems to intimate that we can all overcome complaining using antidotes that ward off deleterious complications. He lists three powerful remedies we can put into action to replace grumbling about our plight. Peter says we should love one another, be hospitabl...

Announcement When Chris, my blog typist and editor asked me what the next topic was going to center on, I announced it would be on complaining. He objected because he sensed the entire blog was going to be centered on him. He was sort of correct, but he asked for a topic and I gave him one. Then we had a discussion, meaning spoken words (Chris) and the AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device (me).  Chris: “So are you insinuating that I have been complaining a lot lately?” Me (AAC): “Yes.” Chris: “But I just had carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand with the right hand coming up soon with no additional help to care for your needs and schedule.” Me (AAC): “Yes.” Chris: “Yes? You understand my plight and realize complaining is just part of dealing with it? Or yes, my complaining is out of control and wearing on your soul.” Me (AAC): “Yes.” A New Quest So, this discourse sent Chris on 15-mile bike ride. When he returned, he mumbled (same Greek word in the Bible for “com...

Family Dynamics Everyone’s family dynamic and upbringing is different; leading to varied relational experiences. Some of us are extremely close and do all sorts of family activities with parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. Others of us, for whatever reason are just not close with immediate family or distant relatives. And still others have no family! I am not writing a treatise on family dynamics here, but I have connected with siblings and close relatives more than ever later here in life; now on my road in retirement with Parkinson’s (PD). Maybe retirement is designed as a great opportunity to “re-engage” with family. The Bible and Families I assume that most planned family gatherings are like ours, never a dull moment with tons of loquacious banter and storytelling. The bible records many genuine family discussions. Here are a few that come to mind, some often very descriptive and honest:  “Where is Abel your brother?”  “How should I know...

Challenges of Distance: Mobility My Road in Retirement has become a gigantic challenge of distance; with respect to mobility and friendships. First, wheels. I have been harping on Chris to get us an accessible van for weeks and finally, we actually saw one; like discovering bigfoot is real. It was a God thing: “Hey, maybe there is a dealership here in Central Wisconsin that sells these vans,” as we traveled back to North Dakota recently (Chris family visit). And sure enough, literally 30 minutes later we rolled my wheelchair (WC) into a showroom to learn about a possible future purchase. The market for vans with WC ramps is huge but disparate; because they are scattered across the country and sold by broker houses mostly. An accessible van allows my WC to glide through a sliding side door via a foldout ramp and proceed directly into the front passenger seat. We need this mobility more than ever to drive my road in retirement.  Challenges of Distance: Friendships Four decades ago, w...

The Above and Beyond Continues Last blog I detailed my latest road in retirement segment involving travel to San Diego and how God cared for us in the journey, above and beyond our prayers and expectations. Looking back now, I’m in awe of God’s hand and presence, like Israel’s cloud in the desert; ever evident and carefully assisting our preparations and travel with immense favor. Let me set the theme for this west coast excursion using thousand-year-old prose from King David:  By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Psalm 33:6-8 The “Wrong” Hotel We landed in San Diego on March 16 and headed for Del Mar, about 25 miles north where we hoped to experience surfer life for the next five days. Chris is such a gracious loving man (remember he types the blo...

Prosperity Gospel  Early in my walk with God, I became well acquainted with what modern Christians call the “prosperity gospel.” That’s basically an interpretation of the Bible that says if anyone has enough faith, the right relationship with God, and the appropriate Bible teaching, they can expect a life of abundance, wealth, health, and plenty in all God’s blessings all the time. My faith in God today is not a prosperity gospel mindset, I was evicted from that genre of Christianity with a Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis. So, although Chris and I don’t believe that God is obliged to prosper us in all areas of our life just because we have some type of super faith or exulted knowledge, we do find in scripture encouragement to exercise faith in God for the “above and beyond.”  Above and Beyond Gospel What I mean by above and beyond comes from the scriptures. In a letter by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus, he writes that God is able to do far more abundantly beyond ...

  Pressing On I am following a road in retirement, now joined by my husband, but I have to say that it's more like a chase. I love this verse that I memorized a long time ago while in college in Platteville, Wisconsin: "I have not obtained the ultimate prize yet [a new resurrected heavenly body], nor am I perfect, but I press on for the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12)." I am pressing on and chasing a new life in heaven with Christ, but the process involves continuing what good mission, what good times with friends and family I can still experience here on earth. Chasing that upward prize is a worthy quest on my road and time is of the essence. The Chase I have been chasing a dream since I was a young girl to get out of the house, love my friends, get an education, and live a meaningful life. Falling in love with God, marrying Chris, having children, helping high school kids succeed, all became part of the "upward"...

Hagar Is Seen In the book of Genesis chapter 16 there’s an account of Abram's wife Sarai and her maid having a spat about childbearing. Sarai was promised a son for Abram by God but at this point in the story she was closing in on 90 and still childless. In her impatience she arranges for her much younger maid Hagar to have relations with Abraham and Hagar becomes pregnant. Sarai regrets that decision and starts treating Hagar harshly with disdain. In abject despair and fear, Hagar flees into the Mideast desert alone, afraid, pregnant and without hope; until. This is where you and I can get involved in the story because God is all knowing; and sees everything. An angel appears to Hagar, consoles her, tells her she will have a son named Ishmael, and he would be blessed greatly. But first she must return to Sarai and serve her respectfully. Hagar is amazed that “God sees.” Looking Ahead of Us In my struggle on this road in retirement with Parkinson’s, I must remind myself often that ...

The Withered Hand While teaching from the Old Testament in a synagogue in Galilee on the Sabbath, Jesus noticed a man with a withered hand. Jesus heals him (Luke 6:6). Maybe he had Parkinson’s? I say that tongue in cheek, but you never know, since Parkinson’s often leads to extreme stiffness, shriveled limbs, and rigidity in arms, hands, legs and even in the face (hypomimia). My arms/hands/fingers might have seemed “withered” in that era. Jesus heals this man in the presence of onlooking strict religious leaders of the day who were threatened by his ministry of compassion, love and good news of a saving heavenly father. These religious zealots were more interested in keeping the legal tenant of doing no work on the Sabbath; like healing someone. This was a common occurrence in Jesus’ three short ministry years: constant pestering, challenges, and trouble from rigid rule keepers. Although he was God, Jesus lived a human life and like us, and there were times he had to get out of the int...

Flurry of Updates There has been a flurry of travel activity on my road in retirement since my last blog. Welcome to early winter with Eileen. My communication abilities are limited, but Chris and I have managed another post. We are always believing and always hopeful for improved or sustained abilities to communicate. For crying out loud, I am a retired English teacher, and I need to say stuff. As a quick update regarding this wretched Parkinson’s Disease (PD), I am working with a speech therapist and a new augmented assistive communication (AAC) device to hopefully add more efficiency to my blogs. Also in January, we have another visit with a PD specialist in the Twin Cities to further work on experimenting with different deep brain stimulation (DBS) settings in my head. Yes, I have two electrical pulse probes that treat both sides of my brain; and you could say I am sort of a version of Mary Shelleys’ creature.   Holy Spirit Pokes In late November-early December I had sever...

Relationships This blog is a particularly hard one for me. My husband and I attended a memorial service of a former student at a funeral home. When we arrived about fifteen minutes early there were a couple dozen young  20- to 30-year-olds just hanging out at the front entrance—everyone wearing Hawaiian shirts or leis or both. The rest of the funeral home was jam packed and several former students said hello to us as we wheeled in and found a spot near the back of one already nearly filled wing. I won’t say much more on this except that at the finality of life, there can be lasting legacy in our relationships, especially good ones. I knew the power of relationships as a teacher and unfortunately I knew that relationships run the risks of experiencing deep pain as well. Like this celebration of life memorial service.   Connection—Finding the Imperishable Chris asked me recently the secret to educating and I immediately told him, connection. That was why I attended the stu...