Wow. What a great morning it's been. Got an hour workout at the Y.
Then I did 6 miles on the trails.
To grow as an athlete, you need to be consistent. Practice truly makes perfect. The process itself is fascinating and fun even if it involves a test of your endurance. The joy, as they say, is in the journey.
That's true about one's professional life as well. It's been a great semester so far. Only one month into my new status as a retired professor, I can tell you that I'm enjoying it tremendously. Teaching only two classes a semester is such a blast. That sense of freedom to explore new avenues of productivity is a part of what I'm enjoying about my life these days. Our minds have a remarkable way of "knowing" things. This time it's my spirit that is discovering the way forward. The best fuel for that is gratitude, perspective, and happiness.
To top everything off, I've been racing pretty well and am feeling fit for this time of the year. A friend asked me this morning, "Dave, are you training for anything?" Of course I answered "Yes." But I'm training for far more than a 10K on Monday or an ultra next month or a marathon in November. I'm training my time-management skills, I'm training my adaptability to life's changes, I'm training my commitment to the Lord and his Great Commission. I'm also training so that one day I can see my grandkids graduate from college.
Today I am sharing in the blessings of my salvation more than I have in my entire life. I ask, "How can I share my blessings with others?" Monday's race for the homeless is a good example. Jesus was serious about caring for the poor, so we should be too. I don't know anybody who hasn't, at least on one occasion, been faced with hard times financially. I cannot imagine anything more important than to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this harsh old world of ours. I like to think that everything from teaching a Greek class to hosting guests on the farm to advocating for the homeless is a sacrament of praise to Christ. I believe that God is in it all, hiding in plain sight. He's so much bigger and more generous and wilder and more wonderful than we can imagine.
Retirement life, I'm so ready for you. Let's get this party started!