Passages

Let me tell you a story – a true story.  It is about a friend of mine named Rod.  Though we've only been around each other a short amount of time, there exists a bond between us that is pretty remarkable.  We've traveled similar paths in life. 

He followed me a few years after I left a church music job in Albuquerque.

I stayed with his family one night when in San Diego for a conference.

He reads my blogs and often comments on their worth in his personal life.

We've read some of the same books.

And we are friends.

Rod is now facing retirement.  Here is what he said to me this week in an email.  It is most insightful.

“This is a step forward, not a stopping place!

It is a beginning, not an end.”

I love that.  “This is a step forward.”

Rod is saying, “Next?  What else is out there for me to do?”

In his short life-span, Rod has touched more than a few lives.  He’s been involved in music ministry for much of his life, and in recent years held an enviable post at a highly reputed college as chair of the music department in southern California.  His mark is made in significant ways in the lives of countless men and women who now have their own careers, both in music and out of music. 

What a marvelous attitude.  The next chapter of Rod’s life is yet another beginning. 

And what about you and me? 

I've had a few different careers in my lifetime.  Each one has been an adventure.  Honestly, the greatest adventure I've ever undertaken is that of a writer.  This craft that I practice gives me immense joy and fulfillment.  And when my readers respond – well, that is extra grape jelly on my bread. 

 ~Life happens. 

  ~Changes come to all of us. 

   ~We retire.

    ~We get tired.

     ~We get fired. 

      ~Sometimes our health forces other choices on us. 

And what do we do about that? 

We view it as a step forward – a new beginning.

Discover your own life. 

Follow the passages of life with confidence.  Reminds me of this great quote:

I think, really, this is a piece on ATTITUDE!

P Michael Biggs

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