The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. – Henry David Thoreau

When I announced my plans to retire this year, one response stood out against the others. 

Why are you retiring now?

At first this question surprised me, because my decision to retire didn’t seem unusual. 

However, a recent survey indicates many Americans now plan to delay their retirement until age 72. Reasons to continue working include paying off debt, financially supporting family members, and simply enjoying their career.

My decision to retire now, twelve years younger than the average age, stems from my convictions regarding the value of time. 

The lyrics of a song I first heard as a teenager come to mind:

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
‘Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them

(Time in A Bottle by Jim Croce)

Jim Croce penned these lyrics the night he learned he would become a father. No one could have  foreseen the tragic plane crash which ended the singer’s life just before his son’s second birthday. Soon after his death, this poetic and prophetic song became a number one hit. 

I believe the song’s universal message of wanting to spend more time with loved ones still resonates. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, and all of us know the pain of losing someone too soon.

Time, unlike other commodities, cannot be stored up and consumed later. We live life moment by moment. In order to make the most of our lives, we must learn to use our time wisely. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul challenges the Christians to follow the example of Jesus:

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV)

Jesus lived a life of sacrificial love. As we follow His example, love like this can take many forms. In our secular workplaces, we can be an effective witness for Christ (this is how I became a believer). We can minister to the needs of our family members and friends. Using our gifts and talents, we can serve our church family.

Each of these forms of love hold value and purpose. But priorities shift with the changing seasons of life. This is partly due to how our perception of time changes with age. Although the reason for this has not been definitively determined, science tells us time appears to fly at a greater rate as we grow older.

When I was younger, the lifetime stretched before me seemed endless. But now as retirement looms on my horizon, the limited number of my remaining days becomes an acute reality. More than ever, I long to make the most of the time I have left. 

This looks different now than it did when I was younger. Personally, I believe Jim Croce had wisdom beyond his years. As a young man he deeply understood the priceless value of spending time with the people he loved. While most of us acknowledge the importance of investing time into these relationships, we generally don’t grasp its urgency until we are much older. As a consequence, other priorities, like careers, become less important in our later seasons of life.

By making a few tweaks in our plans, my husband and I realized we can retire early. We plan to spend time with family and friends while we still have energy and good health. Early retirement also opens opportunities for us to serve our church family in a greater capacity. And it allows me to devote more time to writing.

This is how we choose to live a life of love in the years we have left. 

As I continue my journey, my heart overflows with gratitude for the opportunity to:

Make time for what matters most. 

Wherever you are in your journey, I pray you are able to do the same.