With ever-increasing knowledge in medicine, we are faced with the two-edged sword of living many years beyond that of any generation before us. Already, in our generation, there are more people living beyond the age of 100 than ever before. Iowa is one of the places that can boast having the oldest population in the USA.

When we were young, we planned to live so we got an education to get a job. The job afforded us an opportunity not only to plan but to accomplish many of our plans for life. Some planned a family, planned to buy a house, and planned for retirement. When Social Security was new, the average American man lived less than two years after retirement. Now we may live 20 or 30 years after retirement.

Retirement will take planning. Our bodies must be a part of the plan. We are learning more about the value of diet and exercise as necessary not only to add years to life, but also necessary to adding life to our years. Having the best health possible can’t wait until retirement but must be planned for and cultivated at every age before retirement. Those who have decided that life is about sitting in a rocking chair dozing in front of the TV soon occupy a permanent place in the cemetery.

What are we going to do with all that extra time? Many among the retired can testify as to how busy they are every day with long lists of volunteer work, caring for grandchildren, and perhaps many things they hadn’t planned.

Even though retirement may not be an issue for several years, everyone should have a plan. Research among the retired tells us that everyone can learn something new. The problem with some older adults is they often choose not to learn, or rebel at the idea that something new is required of them. There are literally millions of retirees who are computer-literate and use it as a communication tool every day. Others think that they won’t live long enough to need it. “Why learn something new, when I don’t have all that much time left?” It is a known fact that those who deliberately work at learning a new language, or musical instrument, or some new skill, are those who have the best memory skills. Often our memory goes into neutral because we just quit recording new information in it. When we focus only on the routine, soon the routine is not memorable and we slip on the down-hill slope where many have slipped before us.

Those who want a quality retirement must make a choice to continue to be a student of something. Learning has to be a way of life, or life will slip from us.

Turn off the TV. Doesn’t matter what age you are. Give up some time you will waste to learn something new. Call a friend. Invite someone to join you. Make it fun. You don’t have to be good at it right away. Give yourself some time. Remember that it is the process of learning that will enable you to be open to all kinds of interesting things.

God had in mind that we will be alive for a number of years on this earth, and it looks as if God has planted us in a generation that has the opportunity to live a greater number of years than those who lived before us. What does God have in mind that we should be doing with that time? What is God going to be teaching us? Are we willing to learn?

Is there some interest God has put in you that you have never taken the time to pursue? Investigate! What would it take, on your part to learn more? Your working years certainly weren’t wasted. You accomplished all kinds of things during that time of your life. What is God calling you to accomplish during the last 1/3 of your life? It is worth thinking about, praying about, and then making a plan.

See you here next week for more on The Plan.