Present vs Future

The weather would be in the 60s. We were to pack activewear, swimwear and a nice outfit for our last evening. That’s all we knew. We didn’t know where we were going except that we had a 7:00am flight to a destination unknown.

It’s called Pack Up + Go. A company that designs surprise vacations catered to you. Or me, in this instance. I had wanted to do this trip for a while. Just had to save some money and talk someone into going with me. And that someone was my friend, Sherri. 

After all the information gathering on the registration, including where we’ve lived, where we don’t want to go, boxes checked showing areas of interest, we received a confirmation email. In which I immediately responded back with some clarification. “Pay no attention to our date of birth. We are not two old cronies looking to cobble around a city. We want adventure.” And, without a doubt, that’s what we got. 

Last Saturday morning, we stood outside the Madison airport and opened the package that would tell us our vacation destination. Boston, Massachusetts! We squealed like teenage girls. (check out my IG/FB post for the reel) We were so excited for what was ahead. And we were not disappointed!

We spent 3 days and 3 nights there and had a blast. So much so that I’m already thinking about what to do next. Because the last time I experienced something new and unknown was when Dugan and I spent a week in Israel. That was 10 years ago. And I really don’t want to wait another 10 years for my next adventure. Not that I couldn’t be just as nimble at 81 as I am at 71.

Which got me thinking. These adventures cost money; money well spent. But is another somewhat pricey adventure worth it when I live on my own and work hard at managing my money as well as doing my best to slowly save more for my retirement?

But here’s the thing that I’ve been thinking about. At the risk of sounding irresponsible and reactive, is putting money in retirement, money set aside for the future, robbing me of a creative and thoughtful life in the present? I’m not sure. If I emptied my retirement, I’d have a pretty nice bundle of money - not enough according to my financial advisor, of course, BUT I could use that money for the present. Giving more to those in need without hesitation as well as providing occasional fun for me and my friends and family. 

I know. I know. I’m living in the aftermath of a dream vacation which is causing me to have crazy thoughts. But these are thoughts I want to give attention to. Because they’re not new. I’ve dabbled in this thinking before. And I keep asking God where these ideas are coming from. Him or me? I find myself asking, what would it be like to keep a healthy savings yet empty my retirement, allowing me to live a more giving life. It would surely cause me to be even more dependent on God, constantly in conversation as to how and to whom he would like to “share the wealth.” I gotta tell you, that sounds exciting to me. Maybe even more so than a surprise vacation. 

I’m not going to hurry off these thoughts. I need to stay here longer because if God leads me to empty that retirement fund - GULP - it would take a heck of a lot of courage. I don’t want to end up being a burden to my family, but, as scripture says, if God provides for the birds and the flowers, how much more will he take care of me. Now and in the future. And how much more he could bless others through me. UGH - so much to think about. But here I go. Staying put, living in the present, dreaming about the future and all the surprises that God does and may have in store for me.