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less than 10 in attendance, to help them through a name change and restart. He not only preached, but also helped navigate them through major administrative issues.Today, he is with Jesus and the church is going strong. Milton not only answered the bell by help ing a church during some potentially complicated times, he also led one of his nurses to faith in those final days as well.You may be surprised how God can use you, despite the restrictions you may be facing. Next, when considering finishing strong and learning lessons from death, don’t be content with minimal effort, but rather, strive for excellence, moving beyond mediocrity. Continuing with his deathbed instructions, the prophet said, “‘Take the arrows,’ and he took them.And he said to the king of Isra el,‘Strike the ground,’ and he struck it three times and stopped” (2 Kings 13:18, emphasis added), meaning, he shot the arrows to a distant spot on the ground three times. Instead of affirming the king, Elisha became angry and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times” (2 Kings 13:19). By shooting more arrows, Joash would have secured a great er victory. He had more ammunition at his disposal but chose not to use it.Why? Perhaps he assumed three was enough. Maybe he thought it was just a waste of time, it was beneath him, or he just didn’t feel like it. One can’t say for sure.What we do know, however, is what this incomplete performance signifies. Shooting three arrows instead of five or six symbolizes an incomplete effort, an unfinished task. During retirement years, some have a tendency to “mail it in.”The temptation is to hand it off to the young people and let them carry the weight. “I’ve done my

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