From my window ... I see the world

"Oh, you'll love retirement," a friend told me. "It's wonderful to get up in the morning and not have to rush off somewhere."

She was right. What joy to sit in my bathrobe with my cup of coffee and leisurely read the morning paper or watch the early news on TV.

I can read about assaults and child abuse.
I can see images of war, death and destruction.
I can learn of poverty and oppression.
I can watch opponents argue and bash one another

Wait a minute!

The world that opens each morning before my eyes too often is a flat, dark, joyless world-one that stirs up anxiety and churns my stomach. Suddenly peaceful leisure disappears.

The TV goes off. From my window I see the morning sun through the trees. My hand reaches for my Bible beside my chair and I bury my heart in its pages.

Jesus is there in God's Word.
And also the stories of women like Deborah and Abigail,
Dorcas and Phoebe, and Mary Magdalene,
women who bravely struggled against the darkness,
women who brought to the darkness an intimate knowledge of God,
a dependence on Christ as Savior,
faith and a deep spiritual hunger and fortitude.

"Trust Me," Jesus reminds me in His Word.
"Just as I did for these women,
so also I will give you the strength you need
to share My joy and light with this darkened world."
Then it's time to get up, to get dressed and get to work.

So much for retirement.