About 10 years or so before we retired, we talked to a retired teacher somewhere in a B&B between Durban and Johannesburg. The advice she gave us about retiring was: “Don’t.”
We retired in 2013. It was, for me, a shattering experience. After the joy of moving into our own home, with our own furniture—and not the General’s—was great. But once settled, the pain began. Part of my daily prayer time was spent on the beachfront with a flask of coffee. I was devastated—no routine, no one “consulted” me. I was a “has been.” One morning, about six months into retirement, I walked along the beach and cried out to the Lord: “Lord, I can’t carry on like this.” That afternoon, I received a phone call from the local DC: “Peck, my bookkeeper has resigned, will you take over?” Praise the Lord!!! I had a reason to get up, go to the office, and perform needed actions. I was content. I worked until 1:00 p.m. and was blessed indeed.
When that came to an end and I turned 75, the Lord led me to set some goals:
- Distribute 1,000 free Bibles.
- Preach 100 sermons—all by the time I turned 80, in five years.
To date, I have preached more than 250 sermons and distributed 1,156 Bibles. Besides that, I printed and distributed 352 complete Xhosa Songbooks. I went to a Corps in PE, and there was only one songbook with Xhosa songs. The need was for Xhosa songbooks. I copied and collated it all into a songbook, and printed this at home. I also have printed thousands of tithing envelopes (cartridges).
Another thing I realized was that I must remain active, for health’s sake. Living in a retirement village with about 250 units, I see people growing old quickly when they are not active. Many spend their days sitting in a lazy boy chair, waiting for time to pass by.
When we retired, one of our Corps Officers did a lot of running. He persuaded me to try some. I have NEVER been keen on sports. I thought running after a ball or doing any sport was a waste of time. But I started doing 5k runs. I realized that fast walking or running is very good for one’s health. I did a couple of hundred of these runs and enjoyed getting the medals!!!
In 2013, I was introduced to the Parkrun, and have been “addicted” ever since. I have now completed 462 runs and am looking forward to reaching 500 Parkruns next year when I turn 87.
When you retire, make sure of the following:
Time alone with God. Each day begins with my devotional time—EVERY DAY. I get up around sunrise, dress, make a cup of coffee, and spend an hour in the Lord’s presence. I have many prayer lists, both local and worldwide. I read through the Bible every year. That hour inspires sermons and keeps my soul clean. As I take my place in my “prayer corner” with my coffee, I watch 20-30 mossies eating the seeds I put out for them before my devotional time. The mossies remind me that God cares for them, and so He cares for me and those in our circle of family, friends, and neighbours.
When people ask me to pray for them, I have a little form with the name and the prayer need. I pray for ten days, and then give thanks for ten days. Then I send the prayer form to the person concerned.
86 years old, yet functioning to serve my Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah!!!!!!y Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah !!!!!!
Hallelujah, thank you Col for this practical wisdom 🙏🏾🙌
Thank you colonel Koopman
You are a great Godly example to all of us Thank you for encouraging us to keep on going. And to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not to to lean on our own efforts we can only do our best with the Lord in our lives. AMEN