What Is Retirement?
Frank E. Fain, PhD
“Retirement is a new journey in the pilgrimage of life. Though countless others have traveled this way, this is a unique journey that you will have to experience for yourself.”
Johnnie C. Godwin
From our first day in the workforce the word “retirement” is part of our vocabulary. For those of us age seventy and younger retirement has been a reality, some say “right”, our entire life.
Even though we use the term in our conversation and look forward to our “retirement days”, few of us ever take the time to answer the questions: “What is Retirement? What is it suppose to be? What will I do in retirement? How can I get the most out of it?” Considering some of us may spend a quarter or more of our lifetime in retirement, it is a life stage we need to adequately plan for and fully understand.
Retirement means many different things to different people. Over the years I have asked seminar and workshop participants to complete the statement “Retirement is …” Here are some of their responses:
“Retirement is…”
| Our “Golden Years”, as long as you have enough Gold! |
| The end of full-time employment and the beginning of full-time leisure. |
| Freedom from having to shave everyday. |
| A lot of work, I am busier now than when I worked full-time. |
| Half the income, twice the husband. |
| The real beginning of life. |
| A permanent vacation. |
| Life’s best chapter, as in all good books the last chapter is the best chapter as it brings all the loose ends of the story together as a whole. |
| Full-time fun on a part-time income. |
| Wonderful! |
Although there are many differing views of retirement, generally everyone agrees “retirement” is one of life’s most transitional and demanding stages. Whether one is adjusting to living on limited income, deciding how to use your free time, determining the destination of your next trip, wondering how you got this busy, or considering you retirement housing options, retirement is a challenge.
Retirement will be the focus of my next few columns. These columns will deal with retirement’s history, biblical basis, God’s purpose for us and tasks we need to accomplish in this life stage.
The premise of these columns is “retirement” is a gift from God. As with all of His gifts to us, it has a purpose. In my view retirement is a spiritual journey that God calls us to take so we can become all He wants us to be. It is a journey that if we take full advantage of will bring peace, purpose, resolution and satisfaction with life while greatly enhancing our relationship with God, others and self.
The theme verse for these columns will be 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has gone, the new has come!” (NIV). Yes, in my view even in retirement God wants to continue to make us new creatures in Him. I do hope this series will be helpful to you as you look to your retirement years.
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