staying connected in retirement How to enjoy a happy, fulfilling retirement. by Norma Jackson Goldman     Find out more about the Free Will Baptist Board of Retirement at www.nafwb.org.

SOME WHO READ THIS ARTICLE are already retired; others are about to enter their retirement years. To this point in your life, most retirement planning has been focused on income—how much you will need, what your sources of income will be, and how long your income will have to last. A quick search of the Internet will produce hundreds, even thousands (really!) of sites that can help in all areas of finance, buying retirement property, fund management, and related topics.

A New Way to Think About Work

But preparing for retirement (and actually being retired) also involves your emotional wellbeing, specifically, learning to think about personal productivity and accomplishments in a new way. You will find few publications or websites to help you prepare to spend your days in a fulfilling retirement.

Most people entering retirement tend to be very hard workers; it has been a lifelong pattern. They worked hard to get an education, build a career, and raise a family. They worked hard to educate and establish their children in productive lives and careers. Most have helped care for their own parents, all the while giving many years of committed work to local churches.

How Can I Be Fulfilled If I’m Not Working?

This cycle of hard work and accomplishment can make retirees feel that retirement cannot be fulfilling. They anticipate little productivity and nothing to show for days not devoted to work. These feelings are sometimes exaggerated when a person attaches too much importance to profession, salary, or title.

But work also involves camaraderie and relationships—the energy and stimulation of groups of people devoted to solving problems, bringing about change, creating a better widget, and making a better world. These words— camaraderie, relationships, energy, stimulation, devotion, and creation—these are the substance of fulfillment.

A Christian psychologist in Texas wrote about “coping with retirement,” but I wish she had written about “thriving in retirement!” Jesus did not say, “I am come that you might cope,” but “I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Look around you. Observe retirees who are radiant, unfailingly optimistic, and a pleasure to be around. What is the common denominator? They are all connected—to friends, family members, organizations, their churches, and (most important) to causes greater than themselves. They have plenty to do, little time for complaints, and lots of worthy endeavors to keep them alert, interesting and productive!

Living a Connected Life

Connecting to people, projects, ideas, and organizations is a divine formula for living the abundant life Jesus promised. What more important occupation than investing in the life of another person? Time spent teaching and encouraging a teen yields a far greater return than any CD or savings bond. Time spent on our knees interceding for a failing marriage infuses us with hope and energy. Helping develop and promote a new idea, a new way of doing things, or solving a problem has rewards that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Such work forces us to be open to change, to risk, to stretch and to expand our mental and spiritual capacities—the very qualities that attract and inspire others to follow our lead.

My connected friends “squeeze” each day to the point that it’s hard to fit into their calendars! They contribute meaningfully to civic and community work. Their children rejoice in their happiness, fulfillment, and optimism. Their churches benefit enormously as they help shoulder the ministry load, demonstrating the reality of the transforming power of Christ! These connected friends could never be satisfied with simply coping. Make it your purposeful, intentional plan to stay connected, and to work productively in the community of faith.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Former magazine editor Norma Goldman enjoys a free-lance writing career in her retirement. She lives in Nashville, TN. For more information about the Board of Retirement, call (877) 767-7738 or visit www.nafwb.org.