Artwork by Annalisa Barelli
No doubt, I’m a lucky man—lucky to be retired and facing no pressing financial issues. Here is what The Sameness means to me: I get up and do my spiritual reading and write my prayers. Check my phone and get a weather report. Make sure it is real by going outside to get the newspaper. After that comes my morning ablution: do my business, wash my hands, brush my teeth, take my pills (always in that order). On the best days, I throw together approximately the same breakfast, to be eaten on the golf course. Finish golf, come home, take a shower, and make lunch—not always the same, but I have 4–5 standbys. Check my phone, take care of any pressing matters, and decide about a nap. The rest of the afternoon is down time: reading, doing puzzles, making phone calls to people I care about. My evening begins when I head for the back porch. There I will enjoy my cocktail, listen to music, watch golfers go by, and pray (not always in that order). Frequently, Karen will join me—that is a special time for us. One or both of us will make dinner. Then we’ll watch the news. We might put on a movie after that, or go our separate ways. I will read or write, go back to a puzzle, or sometimes just think (usually with music on). Then I will go to bed to await The Sameness.
Yes, I’m blushing—it sounds pretty cushy. But I’m retired—and the Lord is with me. I know He wants me to do good every day—I pray and watch for the opportunities. I know my riches are His—I seek His guidance. I also know He wants me to be wise and cautious in these trying times—unless He tells me otherwise. And I know there is so much He can teach me through The Sameness.
Of course, The Sameness is also fraught with spiritual danger. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” I think an even greater danger is complacency. Without vigilance, routine can become a rut. The inability to do things can lead to an unwillingness to do things. That is where I most count on prayer and His Spirit. I don’t want to become that person.
But He is here to pull me along. Sometimes unwillingly, but mostly I hope not. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; He mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23) That’s the way I try to get out of bed. It makes the sameness disappear.
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