As we begin our 10^th year of writing, we look back to the beginning.  When we first began writing we thought we would try a few pieces just to see how it went.  At the most we figured we were in for a year or two.  Here at the end of our 9^th year and more than 450 weekly columns later, meeting our deadline and making contact with our readers is as much a part of our lives as brushing our teeth.

By this time in our lives, we are supposed to be “winding down.”  Yet, recent news articles note a different phenomenon for our generation.  We find we are not alone in seeking new directions to lift off this stage of our journey.  After all, we came to be adults in the sixties.  We sprang from the decade that believed in endless possibilities from space travel to peace instead of war.  Should anyone be surprised if we take this part of life to seek new answers to old questions?  For us, the question continues to be how can we find new ways to see life through the eyes of faith?

Part of seeing new possibilities seems to come from finally understanding how to choose work that feels like play.  If we once passed up art or music for archeology (or the other way around), now is the time to switch.  Hopefully, for most of us, retirement planning means more than buying a weekly lottery ticket or soaking labels off liter soda bottles to see if we are instant millionaires.

With or without the ability to retire, we each must face the question:  What keeps life fresh?  One couple we know decided to learn about antiques together.  Today, they buy antiques as a form of investment and have discovered a mutual interest. Even growing a small garden can open a new window on life.

Some time ago we found a way to make our work into prayer and discovered a new and unexpected dimension to life.  Our oldest son reached a difficult point in his life where devoted prayer remained the only help we could offer.  About the same time, we also had work that needed to be done, even though we felt we lacked the energy and necessary to do the work.  We decided to offer our work as a form of prayer for our son.  After all, Job 42:10 says that God restored Job’s fortunes because he prayed for his friends.  Our deep need to pray for our son provided us with energy and passion for our work.  Our work literally became our constant prayer.  We found our prayers were answered, not only for our son, but for our work.  We began to experience the daily work at hand as an honor and privilege rather than a burden.  We also began to understand the power prayer has to transform daily life.