Making Time for God as a Busy Retiree

1. Choose a Faith-Based Community

Choosing a faith-based community for your retirement years surrounds you with Christian values, making it easier to strengthen your relationship with God. Communities under the Bethesda Senior Living Communities umbrella offer a wide range of amenities and services you find in any senior community while being rooted in faith-based beliefs. Being surrounded by other residents and staff members who also prioritize their relationship with God might encourage you to pursue your relationship more closely. You also have access to faith-based services and activities to easily add those experiences to your life.

2. Set Goals

If you want to strengthen your faith, setting goals can help you take specific actions that help. When the new year arrives, consider setting faith-based resolutions to focus your efforts for the year. You don’t have to wait for January to work toward religious goals, though. Examples of goals you might set now include praying every day, reading your Bible for 30 minutes every day or starting a gratitude journal. Reflect on your current spiritual activities and look for areas where you want to improve.

3. Pray Throughout the Day

Having dedicated time to sit down with your Bible or study God’s word is important, but you can also connect with God as you go about your day. Praying as you do your routine activities keeps you close to him no matter where you go. You might pray when you get into the car, asking him to protect you on your journey. Maybe you pray while you go for a walk and reflect on the beauty of nature around you. If you see situations that call for prayers as you’re going through your day, say a little prayer in the moment instead of waiting until later.

4. Be Active in Faith-Based Options

Committing to groups and activities that meet regularly helps you stay accountable and get into a routine. Seeing the same people at those groups also encourages you to come back each time. You develop bonds and want to catch up with the other participants. Examples include Bible study groups, book clubs that focus on faith-based books, prayer circles and senior social groups that focus on faith. You might also look for volunteer options within your faith-based senior community or church. This keeps you in the center of religious activities while allowing you to serve others. If there aren’t a lot of religious activity options near you, consider starting your own. You could organize a senior Bible study group, for example.

5. Schedule Time for God

If your day slips by without enough time for God, add faith-based activities to your calendar. This intentional step ensures you don’t put off your prayers, Bible study and other activities until you’re too tired. It also gives you plenty of time to dedicate to the activities so you aren’t just squeezing them in quickly and feeling rushed. Look for pockets of time during your normal routine when you could spend time with God. You might make small changes to your schedule to accommodate those activities. For instance, you might wake up 30 minutes early so you can pray and meditate on God’s word before you start your day.

6. Prioritize Activities That Connect You With God

Having specific activities in mind that bring you closer to God helps you prioritize your efforts. Think about which activities make you feel closest to God and spend the most time on those. You can sprinkle in other faith-based activities as well. To prioritize those activities, you might have to scale back on other commitments. Make sure you’re spending your time on activities that are rewarding and fulfilling and strengthen your connection to God.

7. Make Reminders Highly Visible

It’s easy to get caught up in your busy schedule and forget to spend time with God. Sometimes a few reminders could be just what you need to make time for God throughout your day. Playing Christian music in the background all day long puts you in the mindset of focusing on God. Catching meaningful lyrics as you go through your daily routine could plant seeds and encourage you to think more about certain ideas.

You can also place visual reminders around your home. Home decor that talks about prayer or being thankful for God’s blessings might spur you to praise God. Leaving your Bible out on the counter could be a reminder to read a few verses when you have free time. Even a sticky note with a reminder to pray, study your Bible or engage in other faith-based activities can work. Place these reminders where you’ll see them during your daily routine to make them more effective.