Wisdom for Flourishing in the Third Third of Your Life

Wisdom for Flourishing in the Third Third of Your Life

Posted on by Michele Morin

September is my birthday month, and I plan to celebrate! The coming of birthdays really didn’t trouble me at all until I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago. Now it feels as if PD has its thumb on the scale, hastening the aging process and slowing me down in ways I haven’t authorized.

I’m thankful that, even in this, the goodness of God is evident, because if ever there was a woman who needed to slow down and pay attention, it’s me. Measuring my worth in terms of my productivity has been a hard habit to break.

It feels as if #ParkinsonsDisease has its thumb on the scale, hastening the aging process and slowing me down in ways I haven’t authorized. Measuring my worth in terms of my productivity has been a hard habit to break.

Teach Us to Count Our Days

Moses sounded tired when he wrote Psalm 90. By the time his years “came to an end like a sigh,” he was well past the seventy or eighty birthdays he wrote about. No wonder he prayed, “Have pity on your servants!”

By comparison, my 63 years will be a drop in the bucket, but there’s no disputing the fact that I’m well into the third third of my lifespan. From this vantage point, every moment counts, giving fresh urgency to the plea of Psalm 90:12:

So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Every moment counts, but not in the sense that I need to be constantly busy so I can present an impressive time card to God, to prove my worth with an abundance of check marks, or to make my mark in the world.

Every moment counts in the sense that all time is material that God can use to love me and to love through me.

Every moment counts as an opportunity to receive God’s guidance, to profit from his correction, and to respond with gratitude to his gift of redemption.

Martin Luther saw in Moses’s psalm an invitation to “all of us to become such arithmeticians.”

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Martin Luther saw in Moses’s psalm an invitation to “all of us to become such arithmeticians.”

“Get Wisdom!”

“Get a heart of wisdom,” said Moses.
I do so much getting.
I get ready.
I get up, get dressed, get behind, and get caught up again. I get meals, groceries, jokes, the mail, and I sometimes even get a bit of work done in the run of a day. But I’m not sure that I consciously spend much of my “getting” in the procurement of wisdom—the kind of wisdom that takes a long view of the unexpected and rests in God’s sovereign goodness—no matter what.

Readers who are also in their third third of life may remember the musical version of this prayer from Richard of Chichester: “Day by day, dear Lord, of thee three things I pray: to see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”

Amen

Holding You in the Light,

You can see all my Get Wisdom posts for 2025 here!

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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 married sons and a growing fleet of 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.

48 thoughts on “Wisdom for Flourishing in the Third Third of Your Life”

  1. Well, first, happy birthday! Then, second, speaking as one who is now in the last third of the last third of my life, disabilities slowing me down to a halt. I still think it is better to live a short life for Him than a long life for nothing or worse. Years ago when I discovered Oswald Chambers book Utmost For His Highest I was shocked to learn he was only 42 when he died. How could that be, he was so devoted to teaching the word of God? But look at what he left behind. I think you fall in that category, so be assured your worth is way greater than the sum of your years.

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  2. Every decade seems to go faster. I look backward to your 63 and think how life was for me then as I was still actively working as a professional clinical counselor on a church staff with full days between work and home. There were trips to TN and MD multiple times a year to visit children and a growing number of grandchildren. Except for allergies my health was much as it had been at 40. I will turn 82 in about 6 weeks and those grandchildren are all young adults now and we seldom travel to see them as a result of their busy lives and changes in my husband’s health issues. My days are still full but now there is the regimen of disciplined exercise due to my diagnosis of PD nine months ago. I look at a week ahead on my calendar and feel grateful when there are no medical appointments for one of us and yet I also am grateful that my health is as good as it is at present and I seek to be a good steward of it. Yes, indeed, we need to get wisdom but I see now that some of it comes from living life which serves as the teacher along the way.

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    1. What a great point–a huge measure of wisdom comes to us from living life and simply following the Spirit’s leading day by day. And I appreciate your example of stewarding your health.

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  3. Yes, I am humming “Day By Day” from Godspell as I read! Thank you for this wonderful message in anticipation of entering my seventies next month. “May we all become such mathematicians.”

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    1. May I assure you (again), dear Michele, that not only are you continually soaking up God’s wisdom, but you have become a reliable conduit of that wisdom for all of us who know, follow, and love you. Thank you for always guiding us back to His Word. We’ll done and happiest of birthdays, faithful, articulate servant.

      xo

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I’m a few years ahead of you, and when I stop to think about it, I feel an urgency to get things done. But, as you said, numbering our days doesn’t necessarily mean ramping up the productivity. That’s a good thing, since physical issues tend to to interfere. I find my daily prayers often including a plea for good health and strength. But mostly I just want to be and do what He wants me to.

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    1. Exactly.
      I have days when I wish there could be fewer things on my list, but I am well aware that “motion is lotion,” and God is using the people in my life to keep me sharp and in the game. It’s a great gift to have work to do everyday along with the measure of strength required to do that work.

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  6. Happy Birthday!! I guess there are several ways we can thinking about numbering our days wisely and making the moments count, and I like the idea that time is an opportunity for God to work in and through me, but it doesn’t mean I have to be doing things for the sake of being busy.

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  7. This is such a thought-provoking and wise post, Michele. I always learn a lot from your wisdom! Happy Birthday to you, and I pray that the Parkinson’s progresses slowly and also that more treatments and cures are found as the days go on.

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  8. I am right there with you in that last 1/3 of my life – and I think 75 percent of what I do in my daily I never thought to imagine I’d be doing now. It would sure be easier if the cooking and cleaning didn’t get in the way (that never changes – does it – LOL). I will admit that I didn’t have the wisdom when I was younger for what I am doing now – and I am sure I will need more wisdom before I am through. I find myself constantly intrigued by where God’s taking me. I can’t seem to find a reliable rhythm in it all – and sometimes that frustrates me. It’s not so much the doing for doings-sake, though – or stacking up achievements. It’s like walking with God and seeing what He has planned for the day. I find myself surprised – and, often, very tired. Happy Birthday, my friend – and praying that God sustain you, protect you, heal you, and allow you to flourish.

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  9. Happy Birthday! I do so much “getting” too, including getting items checked complete. So appreciate your words that: “Every moment counts in the sense that all time is material that God can use to love me and to love through me.” Our identity in Christ is first and foremost. Thank you for pointing us toward Him!

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  11. Happy Birthday, dear Michele! You may not have spent much time procuring wisdom, but you’ve absorbed it nonetheless! Week after week you’ve encouraged and challenged me by your wisdom. I pray God keeps the Parkinson’s disease at bay, that you are able to minister unencumbered for many years to come. Kudos to you for disciplining yourself, faithfully following the recommended protocol.

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  12. Happy, Happy Birthday!! Thank you for your influence and example for so many, including those like me “in the middle” decades. 2025 has brought terror, pain, and excruciating grief as I am battling complications from long covid and grieving the loss of my sister to the demons of drugs and transgenderism. But our Lord is ever faithful! And as I have sought Him through many nights and leaned on Him quite literally for the strength to make it through each day, He is so gently teaching me to rest my soul and exercise and be a good steward of this body He gave me. Your witness of trust in the face of chronic illness is a landmark for so many and your depth of Bible knowledge is such a witness to me. Thank you. ☀️

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  13. First I want to wish you a most blessed birthday! Productivity has looked differently in my life through the years. And it is interesting to me this morning that I thought some of it was more valued. I am coming to realize that as we keep step with the Lord, it all is valued and important to Him. Michele, I so appreciate the wisdom and encouragement you bring with each post! May God continue to bless you, use you, and give you health.

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  14. Happy Birthday, Michele! Learning how to live well in this season of life has challenged me. I don’t want to be driven or lazy. Finding balance can still be a challenge. May God grant you renewed strength and health and stop the progression of PD.

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  15. A very blessed birthday to you Michele 🎈💐

    Yes, gaining wisdom is such a lifetime process especially in the Lord.
    And it begins, as we know, with the ‘Fear (Awe & respect) of the Lord.’

    What I’ve learnt through my experience with Chronic illnesses Michele, over the past twenty years, is that it has helped me to slow down to just ‘Be’ with the Lord instead of constantly ‘doing’ for Him. Enabling me to experience, first hand His loving wisdom in every aspect of my life.
    Blessings, Jennifer

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  17. Happy birthday! I, too, pray the Lord keeps Parkinson’s at bay for you for a long time.

    It’s interesting … the idea of a third third of your life. I don’t suppose I ever thought of it in that way. I’m right there with you … actually slightly ahead since I’m six years older. I feel so often that I wasted a lot of time; but then I have always prayed God would lead me and guide me, so perhaps I’m right where He wants me to be. I know the time spent in caring for my family and serving in my church counts more than I might think. Like you said, “Every moment counts in the sense that all time is material that God can use to love me and to love through me.”

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    1. I think those two venues of service (home and local church) are our most vital calling, Jerralea, so we can look back with joy on every opportunity we’ve had to serve there and look forward with anticipation for future opportunities.

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  19. Love the wisdom and encouragement for those of us in the “third third” of our life, it certainly resonates!
    I am highlighting this on my blog with a five star rating – a read that lives up to the title! Look for a ping back shortly. ~ Rosie

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  22. I think more and more about end-of-life things that I’d like to get done, like putting all my paperwork in order, sorting out old journals I wouldn’t want anyone to read, etc. Being in the third third of life does have a different feel to it. I’m thankful we have as many opportunities as ever to use the wisdom we’ve gained, even as we continue to gain more. Hope you had a happy birthday last month!

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