“You’ll never be ready! If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting till the day you die.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2015-10-06) from his book, If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities (Kindle Locations 3331-3332). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Mark continues, “And you’ll never be set. Sometimes you need to just go for it.”

There are so many examples in life that prove that true… marriage, having kids, retiring. I know, a lot of you think, retiring should be easy but the truth is there is a major adjustment in making retirement be your friend especially if you are someone who strives to make a difference everyday. It really was a very difficult decision for me to make and the truth is I wasn't really ready for it.

Mark goes on, “Now listen, you certainly need to count the cost. Count twice! But don’t just count the actual cost, count the opportunity cost.”

He then says, “Honestly, I think many people operate out of the opposite mentality, thinking, ‘Perhaps the Lord won’t act in our behalf.’ They let fear dictate their decisions. They get stuck maintaining the status quo. They live as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Change your sequence! Go. Set. Ready. Why? Because if God is for us, who can be against us?”

Yes, there was a risk in my retiring when I did but it was one of the best things that I have done. God has opened so many doors in our lives that we could never have imagined if I had still been working. And don’t let me start on being married to Margaret and having Brett then Stef. And then of course that led us to Marissa, then Andrew then Ashlyn, Addison and Harper. I am so glad that I didn’t wait.

The question I want to end with is one that Mark asks, “What if you were more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes?”

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