Looking Forward to the Rest of Your
Life?
Embracing Midlife and Beyond (Book review)
Lorry Lutz (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 2004) 251 pages.
The concept of
embracing the midlife or any age beyond is something which doesn’t
get much positive attention in our world as it exists today. Many
people fear growing old – being irrelevant, being ignored – and
worse, being useless. In the church today, there are programs for
people in the “and beyond” age category with a mission that fulfills
one cliché or another. Older people have “paid their dues” and now
this is “there time” to enjoy each other, spending their time only
with each other doing crafts, having lunch – because they have no
real ability to commit to the important work of the Kingdom. Well,
if you believe that any of this is true, you not only have a serious
problem, but you need to read this book.
The way this book
is organized helps to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter includes
the author’s perspective on the role of the more seasoned members of
the Christian community as well as a biographical sketch of an
important woman who have served the church. Sketches of these godly
women include Win Couchman, Eliza Davis George, and Evelyn
Christenson.
“To finish well” is
the essential message of the book, to encourage women that growing
old does not mean that our ministry is over and passing the torch is
something we must do when we can start receiving social security.
No, ministry persists, and sometimes change, but we're called to be
diligent in our service to the end.
This book, while clearly inviting senior Christians to be bold in
their desire to serve God, will also challenge them in their comfort
zones. The author affirms that she has to keep herself in check. In
her attitude, she wants to avoid propagating certain myths about
older generations. “Am I resistant to change?” “Do I want to be
merely entertained?” and “Do I consider children and young people in
the church a noisy distraction rather than an opportunity to love
and nurture the next generation?” (p. 158)
This is an
important book for both men and women to read as I believe much of
what she says definitely resonates across gender lines. But
especially for women in ministry, this is an important book from
which to glean wisdom and understanding through the passion and
experience of godly examples of womanhood.
