I've been asked this by many friends, church members and those with no connection with a church. Some come out with the the cliche, 'I guess you're busier now than when you were at work.' Not true, at least not generally! In fact one of the great blessings of retirement is that you can pace your life more and enjoy the flexibility of living without the set hours that regular work demands.
My first year of retirement was spent working nearly full time in Jubilee Church Cape Town. Steve van Rhyn, the Leader of the Church there asked me to join the leadership team for a year which I did in a voluntary capacity. I already knew the church well, so only had to spend minimum time adjusting to a new routine, but it was a perfect first year of retirement. It eased me down from total full time work after leading churches for 40 years and helped me adjust to a new pace of life that I was now starting. I totally agree with those who suggest that you shouldn't go from full time work to immediate retirement with nothing to do. I'm very grateful that I had that year in South Africa to adjust.
I've found it helpful to see my life now in 8 sections and I regularly monitor these. In no particular order:
Church. I regularly attend. I try to serve, e.g.continuing as a 'spare time' elder at Citygate, Bournemouth for some years. I pray with the church, attend a small group, give to the church and try to sit quietly on the backbenches without saying,'that's not how I would have done it!'
Family. This means giving time to my marriage, visiting our sons and their wives, keeping up with 7 grandchildren, and praying for them all every day. Also, waiting to be told what we are expected to do and where we are expected to be at Christmas each year!
Friendship. You have to work quite hard at this in retirement. We have, in fact, made new friends in this season. But we do seek to keep contact with friends from the past. This involves phone calls, emails, visiting and giving hospitality. Inevitably some friendships seem gradually to fade. Perhaps sometimes that's our fault and to be frank sometimes you get the message that some people are no longer enthusiastic to keep contact. But we deeply value the friendships that we have retained, some stretching back over decades.
Maintenance. I need to look after the house properly, to budget and deal with finances responsibly, to work in a large garden, to keep the car clean and on the road and I even now help with the weekly shopping. All of this takes some time!
Physical. I regularly exercise by swimming 3 times a week; walking or gardening on the days I don't swim. We are always being told that Diet is important, and retirement brings particular challenges of biscuits with cups of tea and coffee not to mention (though I will) the temptation of a Dorset cream tea if we have an afternoon out. I TRY to be moderate.
Recreational. I've always hated being asked the question, 'Do you have any hobbies?' The answer is probably, that I have interests. We like to travel. I love to plan holidays very carefully as well as enjoy them. We listen to music, sometimes go to the cinema and do a lot of reading. We watch more documentaries these days but alongside Antiques Roadshow and Call the Midwife, not a lot of other television. We are members of the National Trust and visit several gardens each year and occasionally enjoy a meal out. Sometimes we go to very expensive hotels just for coffee. It's a nice way to enjoy a bit of 'up market' without paying too much money! We don't play Scrabble.
Spiritual. I have a very strong conviction that the purpose of our lives is to live to the praise of God's glory as stated by Paul 3 times in Ephesians 1. This would take a blog in itself but for me it works our like this: Live righteously, Live thankfully, Live fruitfully. Live generously and Live courageously. I pray about these issues a lot.
Vocational. I continued as an Elder for a number of years in retirement, I still regularly preach and teach (though I miss the churches I used to visit but where the Leader has changed and so I no longer have direct contact). I write a blog!
What's not to like about retirement? I find it helpful regularly to review these different sections of my life. I've certainly kept busy though sometimes wonder if I will have empty patches in my life in the future when I won't know what to do. But then there's always Bournemouth beach.