Rules for Retirement: Be Flexible

January 13, 2025.

I had images of relaxing in a recliner thinking deeply spiritual thoughts and relaxing into God’s presence as a fire burned in the fireplace every morning following a simple breakfast.

Instead, I found myself in Ocean Springs, MS, staying in a boutique hotel that is capitalizing on its long history of hosting Elvis Presley.

Instead of a slow, contemplative start to each day, Rod and I hopped in a rental car to meet different family members who were in town for Rod’s mom’s Memorial Service for breakfast.

The conversations were lively, heartfelt, and priceless opportunities to catch up, to remember, to enjoy being family.

There will be time for sitting, for contemplation, for moments of morning solitude. But there may not be opportunities to connect with a beloved aunt, or a sister and brother in law, or the bonus of breakfast with our sons who traveled to Mississippi to say goodbye to Grandma Joyce.

The Magi went home by a different route. Because of their flexibility, Herod’s plan to kill the new born king were foiled.

Rule number 1 – be flexible. You never know where that will take you. ~ Anne