A Change in Blog Title -- and a Change in Me

Changing the blog title from "Jim Hughes" to "Lab Notes from Life" is about a couple of things. The first is that I want to focus my blogging, which also means that I plan to actively blog again. The second thing it's about is that it represents a directional change in what I'm doing with my life. That probably requires a little more explaining.

For most of my life, I've been recognized and rewarded for what I know and can share with others. I've always loved learning, figuring out how to do something, and then passing that on to others. Teaching, speaking, writing, coaching, leading are what I just seem to do naturally. As part of that, I love learning new stuff, or finding a different slant on old stuff. I enjoy building mental models of how things work or should work, and sharing those models with others.

So it seemed natural when I retired to continue doing these things I had received R&R for both as a second career and for ministry. Only that hasn't worked out so well. Ventures and projects that I was excited about and that others encouraged have for the most part been dead ends. They used my strengths and experience, served good purposes, and were pursued using all the conventional wisdom success factors. But they haven't succeeded.

For example, about the time I retired, I became passionate around the idea of helping people who were retiring redirect their lives to service, especially to ministry. As I wrote about it and talked to people about it, there was interest and encouragement, so I set out to promote the idea to individuals and churches, hoping to engage them in moving forward. I've knocked on a lot of doors, been politely greeted by most, and even had a few conversations that seemed promising for a little while. But nothing has resulted in engagement, in moving forward.

One day it occurred to me that just maybe instead of trying to help others use their retirement for ministry -- serving God and serving others -- that maybe I just needed to do that myself. (Of course at the time, I thought that promoting the concept and helping individuals and churches do that successfully was my ministry.) But it's interesting how closed doors force you to re-evaluate.

While all of this was going on and I was also working to establish my life coaching business, some new opportunities to serve popped up. A few years ago unemployment was high, and I ended up leading a job seekers' support group. Then about 18 months ago my daughter and I began a support group for family caregivers. At about the same time, I got a call to help counsel Katrina refugees. And more recently, I've become a pastoral care volunteer for Lifeline Chaplaincy, visiting with patients at M.D. Anderson one day a week.

The common denominator in these activities is getting to engage, if even briefly, with individuals who are suffering from loss, who are grieving. What I've learned (that others already knew) is that people suffering from loss, whether it's jobs, or health, or whatever, are on spiritual journeys, and that when you spend time with them, you get to have spiritual conversations with them. And, those times are amazing, because God is there.

Maybe God is teaching me that as much as I enjoy gathering knowledge and sharing it, that my true calling is learning to love people one or a few at a time.

These are the doors that God opened for me, and what I've found inside is rich. I still do some coaching, both paid and free, primarily for clients going through career change. And I'm still promoting retiring to serve.

So how will my blogging change? More will be focused on stories and experiences, less on "How To's." More will be focused on encounters with God through other people. I also have a goal to learn more about God's creation -- birds, flowers, trees, and even weeds. Turns out I can't even put a name to most of them, and that doesn't seem quite right. And I want to spend more time learning to love the crowning achievement of God's creation, people, the way He does. Of course, there will still be pictures of family and some stories.

Stay tuned.