I decided to retire at the end of the 2022 school year. I served my last 4 years as a classroom teacher and now that 5th through 8th grades are in the past.  When I made the decision to retire, I believed that I completed what I set out to do in my educational endeavors and now it is time to move on to my bucket list of ideas for my life upon retirement from education.  

I deeply believed that I made this decision with God’s permission.  However, when I pulled out my retirement hopes and dreams, I found myself still asking, “what is my next?”  The echo from the Holy Spirit in my heart asked, “Yes, what is your next?”  So, as I re-looked at my plans in July, approximately one month after the school year ended, I asked myself if this plan I created years ago was my idea or God’s idea.   

 My retirement plan was based upon various consultations I had with my previous employers, family members, and friends.  Then, I realized I made all my plans without consulting the voice of authority-the LORD God and Father.  I began to feel as if I had fallen short in constructing my retirement plans in Christ Jesus and took on a feeling of guilt for never updating them as I approached my retirement date.   My plans did not even include the mention of His Name.  I thought to myself, as much as I had grown in the Holy Spirit, I should have, before now, seen this huge mistake, and this flawed plan I created needed to be fixed right away.  

Sister, we can do nothing without HIM according to John 15:4-5    Therefore, I decided to go back to The WORD, the only place I’ve learned to resolve issues and solve problems for life’s decisions.  After all, retirement is a life decision and His commands and decrees will guide me and order my steps.  It is written, 

He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones (Proverbs 2:7-8)

I inquired of the Holy Spirit to show me how to update my retirement plan.  He placed in my heart to reconstruct my plan under one principle: Retire back to the WORD of GOD where His two greatest commandments are the priority for my “next.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Matthew 22:37-40

I was led to look deeply into the book of Deuteronomy where God allowed His people many makeovers in their walk in the wilderness towards the promised land of their/our ancestors.   Since I’m being given an opportunity to rethink, replan, and redo my plans, I made His commands my focal point. As instructed by Moses in Deuteronomy, especially chapters 5 and 6, and retaught by Jesus in Matthew 22:34-37(see also Mark 12), these commands became my top priorities. 

The most important commandment is to Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Jesus, in the New Testament, goes on to add that the second most important is to love your neighbor as yourself and to do good to them.  For me, love of God and for God is the common denominator in them both. Therefore, I decided my new retirement plan for next year was now shaped by the greatest commandments.

Once I resolved to prioritize loving Him and then loving others as the central idea of this retirement makeover, my final planning step would be to update my outdated plan that I originally created by rewriting my top three wishes and desires: 1. Spend more quality time with family to build better relationships 2. Promote a lifestyle of health and fitness and 3. Enjoy life.  

Here is where the Holy Spirit revealed that my new plan was really God’s idea all along and that there was nothing new under the sun in my plan that I was about to present to Him.  He was with me all along in the first plan I wrote, even though it was not visible to me and I thought it was my mistake.

 Moreover, He showed me that this makeover and redo was not even my idea but His plans for me too.   I love how He re-teaches lessons within lessons!  I was reminded that  He has a due season for me and you and when it comes based on His timing we will know that it has been His plan all along.   For He says, “I know the plans I have for you… (see Jeremiah).  He also showed me that my top 3 things in my original plan, the one I thought was a huge mistake, was not a mistake nor did it have any mistakes in it because my top three was His top three:  

1. The idea of building better relationships with Him and with others is about sharing in His love.  This makes for the highest quality time! 

2. The idea of promoting a lifestyle of health and fitness is His idea of walking in faith daily in Christ Jesus and by the Spirit of God.  My health will prosper as my soul prospers. 

3. To enjoy life is to walk in obedience in His ways and the joy of the LORD will be my strength. “In-joy” is where I will find life.    

Just as I relearned that I can’t do anything without HIM, I also relearned that I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me.  Even in my perceived mistakes, God is perfect and His plan is too! We write the vision and He “rights” the vision and makes it plain.  

In this season, God has brought me to this retirement makeover!   The LORD already knew that the dry bones of my previous planning would be brought back to life again in Him and through His WORD!

Amen.