THIS NEW ERA IN MY LIFE

There is a new era in my life; condo living.  A few months ago my hubby decided he had enough of house and yard maintenance. What did I think of moving into a condo?  Not much, I said. I always thought I would grow old cultivating sweet peas at the edge of my garden and having family BBQs in our backyard. How was I going to fit that into a condo?

If there is one thing I have learned during our many years of marriage it is that Ed does not suggest something life changing without having researched the pros and cons thoroughly. So we snuggled in at our favorite corner table at Tim Horton’s (that’s where we do our most serious talking) and had a go at this. 

The outcome was most favorable.  I especially remember the suggestion of doing more cruises during the cold snowy winter.  The advantage was that we wouldn’t have to cajole our kids into checking our house and shovel our sidewalks while we were sunning somewhere exotic.

And condo life is agreeing with me mostly.  Our cruise to the Bahamas is coming up in a few weeks.  I haven’t shoveled any driveways or sidewalks this winter.  My car is always warm when I step out of the elevator into the parkade.  No snow to brush off its roof and no ice to scrape off its windshield.

I enjoy the community life.  Ed and I tend to be private people so it has surprised us that we look forward to interacting with many of our neighbors down the hall or on the next floor.  My housekeeping duties are cut down to the minimum giving me  more time for writing or shopping or my favorite,  coffee time with my peers,  kids, and grandkids.

Our move reminds me a lot of my spiritual life.  I am always moving on, pressing toward the goal.  Sometimes I do not want to move ahead with God where He is leading me. Sometimes He does not give me a choice but just puts me in this place. It’s only after I have fully moved in that I realize He is bringing me to a good place; a place closer to Him.

Philippians 3:12-14 (New Living Translation)

 ¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it  but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.