Retirement

One of the things that's been happening before retirement is positively delightful. I've been going through all sorts of papers and records that have piled up over the years. Most of them I've pitched, but there are others that I'm not quite sure what to with yet. Over the years I have either kept journals or kept logs of what went on from day to day, and some other interesting, although most are downright boring.

I'm no longer doing as much of that as I used to. It started many years ago when a congregation told me that they had no trust in me, that they weren't sure I wasn't just wasting my time, so they demanded that I account for every minute of time during the day. (Incidentally, when I reported to the district president how upset this made me, I was told to consider "the glories of the pastoral office.") So, I got into the habit of keeping track of everything, because I never knew when I would be required to prove that I had been somewhere or done something.

Now, with only a little over 10 months before retirement, the congregation here is focusing intently on what they're going to do next – which is very good. But it also means that I am being ignored in the good sense, the sense that he's only here for a short time so we can put up with anything. It's surprising how freeing it is when you can almost count on people not getting upset at you.