How do you want to retire?

How Do I Want to Retire?

I don’t dream of retirement as an ending.

I dream of it as a season of freedom.

I want to retire with my health, my faith, and my peace intact. I want my days to be filled with purpose instead of pressure and memories instead of deadlines.

I want to spend time with my children and, someday, if God wills it, spoil a few grandchildren before sending them home to their parents.

I want to sit on a porch with a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise, and thank God for every chapter that brought me there.

I want to make memories with my aging parents while I still can. To listen to their stories one more time. To cherish the moments that money could never buy back.

I want to write.

To finish the things God placed on my heart years ago.

To continue sharing stories of faith, healing, relationships, and purpose through my blog and whatever books may follow.

I want to travel a little, laugh a lot, and live with intention.

I want to collect experiences instead of possessions.

I want a home where family feels welcome. Where holidays are celebrated around a table full of food, stories, and love.

Most of all, I want to retire knowing that I poured myself into the people God entrusted to me.

That I loved well.

Served well.

Forgave often.

And left the world a little better than I found it.

When my working years are over, I don’t want to simply exist.

I want to live.

And when I look back on my life, I want to be able to say,

“God, thank You.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was meaningful.”

Because retirement isn’t the end of the story.

For me, it’s the season where I finally have time to enjoy the chapters I spent a lifetime writing.