finished

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That’s A Wrap, But It’s Never The End

“Well, that’s a wrap” are words we say when we’ve finished something significant. 

that's a wrap, but it's never the end

I recently put these words up on the sign board in our home. 

But the truth of the matter is that when you wrap something up, you’re not really done. Something else has to take its place. 

When a film director says, “that’s a wrap”, he’s just referring to the filming of the project. There is still the whole editing work that must be done.

Even when you finish wrapping your presents for Christmas, there is still Christmas morning when people are going to unwrap all the wrapping you did the night before. 

… I’m speaking from personal experience, but your story might be a little different.

The reason why I put the words, “That’s a Wrap”, on my sign board is because I’ve just retired. The end of a 37-year career has been wrapped up and it is complete.

The reality of this hit me, more than anything, when I had finished packing up all my books, cleaning out all my files and finally taking down all my pictures and memorabilia from my office walls. 

I turned off the lights in the office, looked back inside for a moment and paused. 

The room was empty; there was nothing personal left in there. It was now just a generic office space, dark, lifeless, devoid of personality.

Can an office have life and personality? Well, it can if you put your own life and personality on its bookshelves and walls.

It was a sad moment realizing that over 26 1/2 years, I’d spent a lot of time there. 

It was all over now – “a wrap”.

But like with anything that gets wrapped up, there is something after it. There is something new or different, something that will take its place.

“That’s a wrap” just leads to what comes next.

For me what comes next will unfold over time. But what first needs to happen is to establish a new routine. 

I’ve only been retired for five days now, so I’m not an expert. I’ve also spent most of that time at my cottage, so it feels more like a vacation than a retirement. When I get home, that’s when it’s going to be important for me to establish a new routine. 

I will end up with a routine no matter what, but I want my new routine to be something I design, something I desire and not something that just unfolds. 

When that first Monday morning hits, what will I do from 6 am to dinner time? How will those hours break down? 

I know that for me, I need things that will motivate me to get at tasks or activities and stick to them … or else I could revert back to those summer days when I was 15 years old. 

Remember them? – sleep till noon, wander around for the afternoon until you finally do something with your friends at night. 

… I don’t want to go back there. 

Here’s the thing: There is no real end when “that’s a wrap”; we roll into the next thing. And at the end of life, we will roll into eternity; our soul doesn’t end. It’s so important that you have a plan for what is next. The only way you can be sure that your “next” will be good is to plan now. Be sure you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. He came for you, paid for your sin and is waiting for you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How are you planning for what’s next? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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I Just Finished Three Weeks Of Ribs

I thought it would take a week, but it’s taken three weeks for my ribs to feel better.

Usually when I get hurt, a week will do it and I’m back to normal – but not this time.

Three weeks ago I had a nasty fall off my bike and bruised some ribs (read here). I naturally thought I would be back on my bike in a week.

It’s taken a lot longer!

In that time I’ve slept mostly in another bed; in that time, I also had a short bout with a cold. But all the while I still managed to get a half hour of exercise in each day.

A couple of years ago we got a new mattress. Lily preferred an extra firm one, whereas I liked one that had some cushion to it. … It turns out that a firm bed isn’t so great when your ribs are sore.

I ended up spending a few nights on the couch because it was so much softer. Then I moved to our spare bedroom. That bed has a memory foam topper, which used to reside on our old mattress.

Wow, I’d forgotten how nice it was to sleep on that thing! Even with wrecked ribs, it was so nice to sink into it again.

… I think I stayed there an extra night before I moved back to our bed.

The cold I got was unappreciated, and it came courteous of Lily. She had picked up a cold about a week into my rib ordeal and hacked all the way home from our cottage – that’s five hours of recirculating germs flying around the car while I was trapped inside.

How could I not catch something?

But man, did I ever pay for it! With every cough I needed to hold onto my ribs for stability.

And sneezing – that was the worst. It felt like my heart was on fire, and the burning in my chest resonated for about ten seconds after each sneeze.

It was a good thing that cold was short-lived.

The only setback I had – other than sleeping in my own bed the first couple of nights – was one exercise session.

I found that riding my stationary bike didn’t really hurt my sore ribs. It’s mostly a leg workout and I could always bike hands-free when I felt some pain from stretching out to hold on to the handlebars.

It was the treadmill that was the killer. I got back on it way too soon. I started slowly and at first it wasn’t too bad. But by the end, I was holding my ribs because they felt like they were bouncing around inside me – not good.

… That’s all in the past now. It’s been three weeks to the day and I’m not only pain free walking on the treadmill (even jogging), but I just pulled off ten minutes on the rowing machine.

Today, I’m going back to the trails and hopefully I’ll stay on my bike this time.

Here’s the thing:  For many of us, staying consistent at something is not easy. There are all kinds of things that can disrupt even the best routine. When our routine of spending time with God is interrupted, we can get discouraged, frustrated to the point of giving up. Don’t give in to defeat; don’t dwell on the interruption, whatever the cause. Get back to your time with God; with Him you can pick up again like it was yesterday.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unexpected thing has interrupted a routine you need to get back to? Leave your comments below.