There's no age restriction on spiritual growth.

Spiritual Formation at Mid-Life and Beyond

Posted on by Michele Morin

My son rolled his eyes in disdain as he vented his outrage. “Doesn’t she know she’s a grown up? There’s nothing cool about an old person trying to act like a kid!”

Leave it to youth to give us the straight and unvarnished story.

We’ve all witnessed the desperate measures of the middle-aged, stuck in the past and refusing to move on. Jesus’s half-brother Jude wrote compellingly and ominously about “late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots,” a disappointment in their barrenness. In fruit trees and in human beings, there’s an expectation that fruit should arrive in season, a sense that the passing of time should not be wasted.  Since I have to grow old anyway, I want to deliver a bountiful crop in the process!

Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Midlife

Michelle Van Loon has spent over a decade thinking and writing about the feasting and the fasting, the challenges and the rewards of the second half of life, and has observed that “chronological age does not automatically translate into spiritual maturity.” Becoming Sage: Cultivating Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Midlife is her response to autumn fruitlessness, but even more, it’s a call to put down deep roots in the truth, to cultivate meaning, purpose, and spirituality in midlife. At a time when the temptation is strong to put ourselves out to pasture, Becoming Sage is a field guide for breaking up our fallow ground and pressing into true biblical maturity through a healthy relationship with God, his church, our families, our friends, and ourselves.

It’s a great gift to be able to share Michelle’s good work at The Perennial Gen’s website. As she launches this book into the world TODAY, thank you for praying for its impact and influence in the lives of men and women who are in or approaching the second half of life–and I hope you’ll join me over at The Perennial Gen to continue reading more about Becoming Sage.

Many thanks to Moody Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.

Grace and peace to you,

michele signature[1]

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase Becoming Sage: Cultivating Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Midlife, simply click on the title or the image, and you’ll be taken directly to Amazon. If you decide to buy, I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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Photo by Jonas Kaiser on Unsplash

Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

20 thoughts on “Spiritual Formation at Mid-Life and Beyond”

  1. Awww, Michele, I wasn’t sure whether to leave a comment here or on Michelle Van Loon’s site. What a great post. It’s kind of funny…when I was younger I always thought I’d have life pretty much figured out by my fifties.

    Silly me.

    I love your wise words and the reminder that we face transitions and changes throughout our lives. Change is rarely easy, even in the second half of life. We are continually called to humility if we want to be fruitful if we want to become sage.

    “Those who have experienced the truth that God actually is sufficient can lean into seasons of loneliness with confidence and with the curiosity of a lifelong learner.”

    This was such a sweet exhortation. Your words today are an encouragement to keep pressing into Jesus, especially in this phase of life.

    Like

    1. Oh, heavens, that’s me also!
      And it didn’t occur to me at all that there would be more people in my life for whom I would have deep love and concern and therefore be putting my heart at great risk!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Even though I am past mid-life, this is such an appealing book. I am adding it to my handwritten TBR list, which is the one I pay the most attention to! 🙂 Even in this phase of my life, I want to grow spiritually. I want wisdom. I want my life to have meaning. I think I still have something to share.

    Like

    1. Grinning, because I think our definitions of “mid-life” are kind of funny. We’re not ready to be called “old” until we hit 70 at least (biblical description, after all!), so if we are “middle aged” I guess we’re expecting to live into our hundreds!

      Like

  6. Thanks, Michele, for this book suggestion. It looks like one I need to add to my list! This post reminded me of a quote by Paul Tripp that I posted recently on our “From a Proverbs 31 Woman to a Titus 2 Woman” post.

    “One of the challenges I repeatedly hold out to the people of our church—especially the women—is that they make it one of their aims to age into a sage. I love the vision of older women full of seasoned spiritual fruit that comes only with long life and much affliction and deep meditation on the Word of God. So many younger women yearn for older women, who are deeply wise, to share the wisdom God has taught them over the years.” ​—John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God

    Thanks for linking up at InstaEncouragements!

    Like

  7. What a great post Michele and God must be speaking to me about how I have felt about aging lately because yours was the 2nd post in a row I read on the topic LOL Thank you so much for sharing this with us and thank you for linking up @worthbeyondrubies

    Like

  10. Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn

    Like

  11. It sounds like a wise book for approaching later life and the changes that ensue. I am heading towards 40 so may take a look soon… Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging

    Liked by 1 person

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