I have apparently never been good at planning my life.
When I was young,
although I liked the idea of marriage and family, I thought it would not be the
way my life went. I saw two
possibilities, neither of which required a man in my life.
Although I didn’t
yet have a specific “call” to be a missionary, I was open to the idea and
figured a “call” may yet be in my future.
Then I would be a missionary nurse living in a primitive culture and
allowing my entire life to be absorbed in a ministry.
The other
possibility I envisioned was a PhD in biochemistry, and a life dedicated to
research. I would live in a small
apartment, work long hours, and be active in a local church. I would sing in the choir and teach Sunday
School. That did not require a man
either.
I had no clue that
God had a delightful plan. My parents
said they were moving and asked my opinion.
I told them to do what they thought was best for them, as I would never
be coming home to live. I would be off
in some other direction. I never
imagined that their move would put me in the path of the charming Bill Chapin
with his twinkling blue eyes and commitment to accomplish God’s purposes for
his own life.
For fifty-four
years, we had a wonderful marriage and partnership. We were engaged in and supportive of each
other’s endeavors. I assumed this would
end with me dying first. I pushed for us
to move into the continuing care retirement community, because I thought he
would be without me, and I wanted him to be safe and cared for.
I did NOT plan
this part of my life. I thought if I did
by some chance lose him, I would be so old that I would be sitting in a chair
in a nursing home.
I did not plan on
a healthy and active life in my eighties.
So now what? What is God’s plan
for me? I know I will still have time to
accomplish whatever He has planned, but I didn’t think about this ahead of
time. Do I have minutes, hours, days,
weeks, months or years left? How can I
make this time productive. I am active in
the church at my retirement community. I
keep in touch with a wide circle of friends.
There are family members who still seem to need me. I write, blog, and vlog. But, I still wonder is there yet something
more I should be doing?
What do I want to
be when I grow up…or when I grow really, really old?
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