9.20. 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On United 1910, I\u2019m on my way home from spending 5 days with Greg, Heather and our three grandkids in Cary, North Carolina. Evi is almost 14 on Oct. 10th, Gavin is 11<\/a>, and Sebastian is 9<\/a>. They are becoming less \u201cchildren\u201d and more \u201cyoung adults\u201d now. And every time, I visit from now on, they will naturally become older and older until they become adults. I hope to live long enough to see that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We used to play Legos over many hours. The boys used to play Sky-Landers video games when their parents were not home. We used to play Hungry, Hungry Hippos. But they are now playing adult games like Qwirkle, Mille Bourne, and some game with black and white marbles to line up 5 in a row to win. It reminds me of a western version with a twist of the ancient Chinese game of Go. Gavin has 25 wins over my only 3!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Greg and Heather parent their 3 emerging \u201cyoung adults,\u201d they are modeling for their kids that life is not a sprint but rather a marathon. I especially noticed this as they talked about the best soccer programs that Evi and Sebastian might participate in. The parents already know that their children most likely may never become elite players winning a sport\u2019s scholarship and playing in college. But rather Greg and Heather are discussing each child\u2019s strengths and weaknesses and guiding them to programs that would provide the best in developing life\u2019s skills that would support them becoming successful citizens and not just good soccer players. This is running a marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being 67 means that I have run a marathon and one can say that I have finished the race. Retirement is the prize at the finish line. When I started out in ministry 41 years ago, I could not imagine what it would be like today in retirement. I made as wise as possible of decisions as I knew how to make with the maturity level that I had. We continue to make wise decisions over the course of time and eventually we arrive at the finish line. And we pray to God that we have run the race, reached for the prize and God has been pleased. In this new phase of life, Joy and I are working to run the rest of life\u2019s marathon to ensure that we are living within our means of fixed incomes, diminishing health, reducing our carbon footprint, and simplifying our lifestyle including what to do with our housing situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am pleased to see that all of our 4 children are mature and capable people who care and love our 6 grandchildren. They are teaching them to persevere and endure in suffering knowing that life is not a sprint but a marathon. And if what little I might impart on them, both the adult children and the emerging \u201cyoung adults\u201d that may lead them see the long-view of life, then I have done my part. I would have passed the baton successfully to the next generation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 9.20. 2016 On United 1910, I\u2019m on my way home from spending 5 days with Greg, Heather and our three grandkids in Cary, North Carolina. Evi is almost 14 on