Seasons of Life
"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
The brown blooms on my once gorgeous Endless Summer hydrangeas and the falling leaves are a daily reminder that the annual seasons are changing. The flower buds of the spring and the full blue blooms of the summer are quickly giving way to the Fall before yielding to the coming winter. But it isn't just the weather and calendar changing as we march quickly toward the Fall. My daughter's third child is due in less than three weeks and my Mama is now in her ninth decade. Solomon was right; there is a time to be born and a time to die. (Ecclesiastes 3:2) I am acutely aware of both these impending seasons of life change.
The biggest change in this season of my life, however, isn't really about the joy of the birth of another grandchild or the challenges of parenting my parent, but my upcoming retirement. In two weeks, I'll be retiring from a job that I have held for 35 of the last 43 years of my adult work life. The prospect of retirement is both exciting and scary at the same time. There's something safe about continuing to do what you've always done and still enjoy, but our family life season is changing and so am I. The time has come to close this chapter of my life, turn the page, and discover what other adventures God has in store for us.
As I reflected this week over my career at the hospital, I jotted down 35 reasons to be thankful- one for each year of my employment at UAB. I won't bore you with all 35, but have chosen instead to highlight just a few. I am grateful, not just to UAB, but to God for:
choosing Pharmacy as a career. It has been a good one.
parents who sacrificially invested in my education so that I could have a professional career
a paycheck that allowed me to help provide for my family
co-workers who mentored, trained, and invested in me to further develop my work, leadership, and life skills
a flexible schedule that enabled me to work around my family's needs, especially when it came to care for James Bruce, our special needs son
quality patient care, the continual pursuit of excellence, and the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself
Institutional Core Values that carry beyond the job and into life: Do right; Always care: Work together; and Own it.
good benefits including health care and retirement
necessary resources provided for doing my job well
continued growth and opportunity to sharpen job skills
stable leadership in key positions - I only had three Directors in 35 years which translated to stability in our work group
Someone recently asked me at a service awards program, "What is the biggest change that you've seen since you began working here?" My quick response was, "University Hospital only had one building and I made $4/hour." That was in 1975 and oh how the downtown landscape and healthcare have changed. I, too, have changed. I am grateful for the challenges, opportunities, and provision of the last 35 years. I am also grateful that I have a clear conscience in knowing that I heeded my Daddy's wise advice to always "give a man an honest day's work for an honest day's pay."
As for what's next, my current answer is "babies and books." I am looking forward to being available to help with our grandchildren and have more time to write. I also hope to spend more time with Bruce. He has faithfully anchored here at home with James Bruce for the last five years and we are looking forward to spending some much needed time at the lake or the beach. Both places provide the perfect setting for doing more writing. Beyond that, there are all sorts of possibilities, including teaching and mentoring the young moms that are currently in my Thursday morning Bible study and being more available for hospitality with our home and resources.
Solomon was right. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun. "He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and I am grateful.
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