49. Unexpected Freedom: A Lesson About Life, Retirement, and Carrying Less

Many of us carry more than we realize.

Over time responsibilities, commitments, possessions, and expectations slowly fill our “backpack” until one day the weight begins to feel heavier than it should.

In this episode of Courageous Retirement, Vona shares a recent personal experience simplifying her website—and the surprising freedom that came from letting go of something that had quietly become too heavy.

Through this simple change, she discovered a deeper lesson about life, retirement, and the invitation Jesus offers in Matthew 11:

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Rest doesn’t mean giving up on the dreams God has placed on our hearts. It means releasing the stress of carrying what was never meant to be ours or was never meant to be a burden forever.

If you're entering your best season of life, this episode may inspire you to take a look inside your own backpack and ask a simple question: 

What might God be inviting you to simplify?

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Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Have you ever experienced the kind of freedom that comes from finally letting go of something you didn't even realize had become so heavy recently? That happened to me in a very unexpected place. My website, what had slowly become slow, complicated, and overwhelming, turned into a surprising lesson about life, retirement and the freedom that comes when we begin to carry less. And today, I'd love to share that story with you.

Speaker 2 0:27

Do you fear? What lies beyond retirement? What if it's a gateway to a life filled with purpose, meaning, and adventure rather than an end? Discover peace and fulfillment as you boldly enter this new chapter in Courageous Retirement, a Christian podcast. I'm your host, author, and coach Vona Johnson. Let's get started.

Speaker 0:45

Have you ever picked up a backpack for a trip that didn't really feel that heavy at first, but after a while it's all you can do to keep carrying it. You know, you start with the water, your iPad, a jacket, a few snacks, just the essentials. Along the way though, things get added. Someone hands you something to carry for them. You tuck in a few other just in case items, and you keep something because you think you might need it later. Before long. That backpack that seemed manageable is suddenly heavy. You realize I've been carrying way too much. Life works a lot like that. Responsibilities, commitments, possessions, expectations. Dreams that may no longer belong in this season, and eventually the load begins to weigh us down. I recently had a very practical reminder of this lesson related to my website. The website platform I'd been using slowly became something I couldn't manage on my own. It was slow, complicated, and honestly, it had become a headache. They'd improved it so many different ways, I didn't even know how to make changes to it anymore. I tried to keep up thinking I could make it work, but eventually it was more than I wanted or knew how to deal with, and I certainly wasn't gonna hire someone to help me with it. It was way too expensive already. Then it dawned on me the solution was to simplify, to find a new platform that was less complicated and easier to maneuver. What happened next really surprised me. I felt relief. Real deep relief. That simpler platform gave me exactly what I needed for a fraction of the cost and without all the stress. Yes, I gave up some of the things I never thought I would. Like those a hundred or so blog posts that I had painstakingly written through the years. But boy, once I hit that delete button, it felt so good. It was a small but powerful reminder. Sometimes carrying less is the best way to move forward. That experience got me to thinking about all the ways life fills our backpacks. Sometimes it's stuff, you know, closets full of things we rarely use garages, stacked with boxes. Sometimes it's commitments and responsibilities, roles we've said yes to years ago that no longer fit this season. Sometimes it's emotional weight. The desire to prove ourselves, the pressure to maintain a certain image, the need for recognition. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but when we keep adding without ever taking something out, that backpack eventually becomes way, way too heavy. There's a verse in Matthew that speaks beautifully to this. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-29 NLT. I used to think rest meant stopping, laying everything down and giving up on the life we had hoped for. But rest doesn't mean that at all. Rest means releasing the stress of carrying the things we were never meant to carry. It means opening space to enjoy the dreams and the desires that God has placed on our hearts. We often hear people say, earn more, expand more, do more. But sometimes the wiser question is, what could I gain if I simply carried less? When I simplified my website, I realized I didn't need to add anything. I simply needed to let go of what was weighing me down. And with that release came more space, more room for creativity, for conversation, for family, and for listening to where God is leading me. Next, one of the gifts of entering retirement or what I'd like to call the best season is that we finally have permission to pause and ask. Do I really need to carry this? Finishing well doesn't mean holding onto everything we've ever picked up. Sometimes finishing well means traveling lighter. And here's another lesson I've learned in this season. Follow your own dreams. For years, I thought that after retirement I would travel more. I mean, that's what people do, right? It was something I'd always enjoyed while working, and I just assumed that I would find more opportunities to do so, but something surprised me. What I actually love is being at home. I love spending time with family and friends. I love simple days reading and enjoying a movie once in a while. I love working on my business without pressure of making money, and I love taking life one day at a time. I'm not necessarily traveling more, but I'm more intentional about the travel I am doing, like my plan to go to the holy lands this fall. That's something I've wanted to do for decades, but that's the beauty of carrying less. We finally have the freedom to follow the dreams God has placed on our hearts rather than the ones we assumed we should have. So today I want to leave you with a simple invitation. Take a moment this week and open your backpack. Look inside and ask yourself, what have I been carrying that no longer belongs in this season? You don't have to empty the whole thing today, but maybe just, maybe you can take one thing out. And in that small act of letting go, you might discover something Jesus promised long ago rest, not the kind that comes from giving up on life, but the kind that comes from walking closely with Jesus and enjoying the life that he has created for you and that my friends, is part of what it means to live your more. Thank you for joining me today on Courageous Retirement. Remember, simplifying our lives is the perfect way to create space, to live our lives in the freedom our soul's long for. And rest doesn't mean giving up on the dreams God placed on our hearts. It means releasing the weight that keeps us from enjoying them fully. Sometimes the freedom we're looking for isn't found in adding more to life, but in trusting God enough to carry less. Until next time, keep finishing well and stepping into the more God has created for you.