irrelevancy

noun

ir·​rel·​e·​van·​cy i-ˈre-lə-vən(t)-sē 

The word irrelevancy has come up in several conversations with friends lately. Irrelevant simply means disconnected or not pertinent to the subject at hand.

In our case, the subject was our current season of life — retirees, parents, grandparents, and, for some of us, great-grandparents.

Let me say up front that these thoughts are not meant to be derogatory or critical. They are reflective, honest, and realistic.  But most of all, written with great love.

Several months ago, Dick and I were talking about this stage of our lives and certain situations beyond our control.  I casually remarked that we are in our “phase of irrelevancy.”  We both laughed — but we also knew there was truth in it.

Our two children are middle-aged adults with demanding careers and responsibilities.  Their children are all adults.  Four of our seven grandchildren are parents themselves, most living far away.  Those without children are busy navigating careers, marriages, and schooling.   Life is full — as it should be.

We understand this.  We remember those years well, when we could not imagine fitting one more thing into our days.  Many of those days hold some of our dearest memories.  And we wouldn’t want it any other way for them. 

Our lives in our 80s are good.  We are as involved as we choose to be.  We live in contentment and satisfaction, needing nothing more to bring us joy.  Our true joy comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ.  In Him is our completeness.

This “phase of irrelevancy” is one many of our friends share as well.  We all get it.  It is simply part of this season of life.

And yet…

We miss the interactions with our children.  Hearing the everyday stories.  Watching our grandchildren interact with their children and great-grandchildren grow and develop.

And yet…

We understand.  We rejoice in their successes and excitement in seeing their own children and grandchildren flourish.  We thank God for every blessing they experience.  We pray for them daily.

And yet…

This morning, a thought stopped me in my tracks:

If we feel irrelevant at times, how must God feel when we only think about Him on Sundays?

How must He feel when we fail to engage Him in our daily lives — when we don’t consult Him in our plans, share our joys or concerns, or seek His?  When we choose our phones, social media, or a good book over His Good Book?

Do we ever just sit and quietly enjoy simply being in His presence because we love Him?  Are we too busy and preoccupied with life to just be still and know? 

Do we make God irrelevant in our lives?

I’m afraid the answer is often yes.  It is for me.

But this does not have to be our reality.  He has promised, “I am with you always."  He invites us to seek Him, to talk with Him, to share our thoughts, ideas, concerns, joys, excitements, plans, frustrations, and yes, to ask for forgiveness for disappointing Him.  To think of Him without ceasing.  He reminds us that if He cares for the sparrow, how much more does He care for us.  As His children, we need to let Him know we need Him, not just in the crisis times of our lives.

As we approach Easter and reflect on the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, let us commit to living in close, relevant fellowship with Him every day.

He deserves nothing less.

Baby Landon on the Hodgepodge

I missed last week's Hodgepodge so it is good to be back.  Yes, I do have pictures to share of our great grandson.

Thank you, Joyce for keeping us going.

1.  What's something you wish you had spent more time doing when you were younger?  Explain.

I wish I had spent more time asking my parents questions and encouraging them to record their memories and experiences.  There are so many things I wonder about now and wish I had been more attentive to while they were still living.  I wish I had appreciated and loved on them more.  Time is so short and we take it so for granted.

2.  Who inspires you to be better.  Tell us how.

Reading the scripture daily inspires me to be better.  Who?  The Holy Spirit's nudging, reminding, convicting also keeps my path straight.  The legacy I want to leave behind to my children, grandchildren and greats, also inspires me to be all that God desires me to be.

3.  Share a money saving tip with us.

Know where your money goes.  The beginning of this year, when inflation and the increased costs of things began to really hit, I started keeping a spreadsheet of everything we spent other than the regular bills every month.  Although we are normally frugal and conscientious about our money, it has been enlightening to see how much we spend on incidentals.

4.  It's National Garlic Day...are you a fan?  Your favorite dish that includes garlic?

Oh yes, I am a huge fan of garlic in recipes.  I really don't know that I have a favorite because I use it in so many things.  We do have a favorite Lemon Garlic Chicken that we love.  I also use it rather heavily on salmon.

5.  Would you describe yourself as decisive or indecisive.  Elaborate.

I am pretty decisive!  Being a first-born, strong-willed female, perhaps gives me an advantage here.  Or perhaps some see it as disadvantage?  I tend to get very impatient when someone doesn't come up with an immediate answer to a question or situation.  Then again, there are times I find it a lot easier to let someone else make the decisions.  D says he gets to decide whether we go to war or not, but it's really not that bad.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Our baby Landon was born three weeks ago today.  His mother had the smoothest delivery I have ever known of, for which we are so grateful.  He weighed 7.9 and was 19 in. long, and perfect.

One week later he had gained 10 ounces, so is thriving.

We are so in love with this precious baby boy.

Easter was a day to celebrate our Risen Lord and His faithfulness to our family.

We celebrated long-distance with our Indiana family and all are looking forward to the upcoming July birth of their first grandbaby and our 2nd great grandson, Jax.

So stay tuned, there's more to come.