Never Stop Starting

How do we lead a meaningful and vibrant life in our later years? It is my hope and my prayer that this book helps you answer this vitally important question. Each chapter within emphasizes one key discovery made by one biblical personality (or, in the case of chapter 11, a duo: Naomi and Ruth). Some of these scriptural characters are widely known, such as Abraham, Moses, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, while others may be less familiar, such as Anna and Esther. Famous or not, each of these men and women offer an important lesson on how we ourselves might live rich, purposeful lives in our later years.

This book came about as a result of a lecture series I gave for a retirement community. At that time, I was newly retired, but I didn’t yet see myself as old or even recognize my own aging in a significant way. Where was I to start? What should be my message? I called a friend, Theresa Norton, who holds a Master’s degree in gerontology (one who studies the aging process), because I knew I needed help and insight. Theresa and I began talking about how biblical personalities and their stories hold great insight for those in their later years. These discussions led to the need for new learning and research, so my library quickly expanded to include a section for this essential exploration – a topic that would parallel my own personal journey. During more than half a century of ministry, I’d told biblical stories about these characters many times, but I had never considered their wisdom from the perspective of those in their later years.

As I prepared my lectures and reconsidered these biblical personalities in a new light, I began to fully appreciate the potential benefits of later life. It’s during the later years that the secret of living, that secret of life so often elusive in former years, becomes not only clear but also vibrant. In the chapters that follow, I hope you will discover the possibility of seeing yourself in a new light—through the life stories of others. Some readers may have heard about these biblical characters since childhood, but, given our new stage in life, it is time for us to see them in a new way.

If you don’t know anything about the Bible, no matter. The stories are used as encouraging illustrations of people who have been there, who have faced the challenges you are facing. And if you do know a few things about the Bible, you may have never seen these biblical personalities in real-world situations, as people who came head-to-head with the same dilemmas you are encountering every day of your later life.

Sociologists and gerontologists divide our lives into three segments or ages. The first age is our formative years of childhood, growth, education, and preparation for a vocation. The second age describes the middle years of life. Maybe we leave home, graduate from a college or university, find work, marry, have children, and so on. During these years, vocation largely defines our purposes in life. Many describe these years as the prime of life. Eventually, these years come to an end and we enter the third segment or third age of life. The third age is often considered retirement and beyond. What has been is no more. What will be is often obscured and even frightening.

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, author of The Third Chapter, interviewed those who had recently retired and were moving into what she calls the third chapter of life. One participant said of the experience, “Suddenly I was in the wilderness with very little in the way of a fundamental core of selfhood.” Another, who had been an organizational consultant for large institutions, agencies, foundations, universities, and non-profits, spoke of a “lethargy and a listlessness” after her retirement. She described it as a “chasm of emptiness.”

Part of the reason for her emptiness is that if we look outward, we often find our culture places little value on this later stage of life. We are accustomed to receiving affirmation and even commendation during the second age of life. But in the third age, we may feel that there is mostly silence.

We have to face this cultural norm. In the third age, meaning and purpose are not going to come from outside sources. Our parents and other key influences are no longer there to guide and affirm us. In fact, if they’ve lived long enough, we may be the ones affirming them. Our vocation or work, which earlier gave us a place and affirmed our worth, is no longer there. We may be remembered on special days, but on all of the other days, our affirmation and value has to come from within.

In the first two stages of life, affirmation and direction often come from others or from our occupation. That’s why upon retirement, most of us feel lost. But eventually we must realize that what has been cannot be repeated. If we can listen with the spiritual ears of our hearts, we are apt to realize that endings are often the prelude to new beginnings.