Wisdom for the Second Half of Life

By: Rev. Tom Parkinson

My 40th birthday is just a few weeks away. To be honest, I am not looking forward to it. I find something unsettling about turning 40. It is often referred to as going “over the hill” into the second half of life. The thought that somehow our lives peak at 40 and “it’s all downhill from here” has prompted many mid-life crises, including (it appears) my own.

Spiritual writer Richard Rohr notes our tendency to assume that all of life’s excitement and importance occurs in the first half of life. It is then that we discover who we are, decide where we want to go, what we want to do, who we want to marry, and what kind of life we want to lead. Conversely, we assume that the second half of life is about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of the idealisms of our youth. Go figure turning 40 fails to excite me!

Yet, Rohr writes, if we have eyes to see it, we can discover that the second half of life holds before us the very best opportunity to experience life to its fullest. If the first half of life is about discovering the kind of life we want to live, then the second half of life is about actually living it. Seen from this perspective, turning 40 is not something to grieve, but something to celebrate!

As I wrestle with the reality of aging, I have found some wisdom and comfort in the story of Moses. Almost everything for which Moses is remembered happened in the later portions of his life. He was 80 years old (80!) when he encountered God’s presence in a burning bush. The burning bush, mind you, was the preface to Moses’ bold and courageous leadership in confronting Pharaoh and guiding the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery. Surely on his 80th birthday Moses assumed all the excitement of his life was behind him, yet he found that God’s best was still ahead of him, even in the later stages of his life.

And so, I am choosing to believe that God’s best is still in front of me, awaiting me in the second half of life. If you are past 40, or even past 80, I pray that God can comfort and encourage you with the same belief. After all, no matter our age, because of Jesus we can all say with confidence, “the best is yet to come!”