Retirement Sabbatical Year of Discernment

     After a very relaxing and interesting time at Lava Beds National Monument that included cave exploration, some short high desert hikes and an afternoon jigsaw puzzle under the shade of a juniper tree we headed south, back towards Colfax, stopping for the night at previously unknown to us Eagle Lake near Susanville. We needed to return to home base for a medical procedure for Rob last Monday. We had to be back by Friday because he had to have a Covid test in preparation for entering the facility three days later. Rob is negative for Covid, the procedure went well with a good outcome and we were ready to hit the road again on Tuesday. While eating lunch on Monday Rob had a tooth crown come out so that meant a call to the dentist for a Wednesday morning appointment. We were just a bit frustrated and it caused me to think about what we would do if the delays kept mounting up and we "never" got back on the road. That was a contingency I really didn't want to consider,...

    As I reflect on my life I see it as a series of "calls." My first vocational call was to life as a wife and mother. My second vocational call was to work as a sixth grade public school teacher. My third vocational call was to the ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. On July 1, 2020 I retired after 19 years under appointment as a pastor to UMC churches and have now embarked on what I am calling a "Sabbatical Year of Discernment" while I discern what the next "call" looks like.      For the past several years as I have anticipated retirement I knew that I wanted to begin it traveling the U.S. in our 26 foot motor home, experiencing the world of nature with an emphasis on hiking in our beautiful National Parks. Ending my years of ministry under the Shelter in Place restrictions due to Covid 19 has been a strange way to begin this journey, but on Sunday afternoon, June 28, after preaching my last online worship service, my husband Rob, our two...