Marriage Monday: New Season of Life

We are in a new season of life. Our looks have changed, our occupations have changed. It seems as if disruptions are coming back-to-back in my life. I just want to go back to the way it was. Makes me want to grit my teeth! But God has new plans for us in this new season.

I Loved the Old Season of Life

I loved the old season of my life. The empty nest years were so much fun. I loved the adults my kids were becoming. We were enriched as we embraced their spouses into our family. Becoming grandparents was so fulfilling. I had time to develop a speaking and writing ministry. Bruce and I became marriage mentors and loved working together to come alongside other couples. I was learning and growing daily.

This Christmas, our son and his family came to see us in Michigan. Our grandsons are now 16 and 13 years old. How did this happen? It seems like just yesterday when I was changing their diapers. We marked their height on the basement door jam as we have since we moved to this house eleven years ago. It won’t be long before Kaleb is taller than the door jam. What will we do then?

We have a toy closet upstairs, and the boys always went up there to choose toys to drag downstairs. This time, neither one wanted to visit the toy closet. There the legos and playmobile and little cars and big trucks sat. All the books I read to them as they were growing up are dusty with lack of use.

It’s Time to Say Goodbye

I don’t want this season to end! For a while now I’ve felt nudges by God to say goodbye to some of the former things. But I couldn’t let go. I felt stuck. My motivation for some of the things I was doing was whittled down to nothing. Still I pressed on, refusing to give up. It was like God was slowly closing the door but I kept my foot in it, stubbornly resistant to moving on.

One of those things is my weekly Marriage Monday posts. I’ve loved doing them, but I know God is saying to move onto other things now. When I first started blogging it was three times a week. Then I moved to once a week. Now I feel called to put more time into my posts and give them the chance to percolate in my heart before releasing them.

Is God nudging you to say goodbye to something? It’s bittersweet, right? Are you resisting His urgings? I want to encourage you to join with me in saying goodbye to the former things. Staying stuck was uncomfortable for me, and maybe it is for you too. God always has a new thing waiting around the corner.

Here’s a sweet look at the different reactions that saying goodbye conjures up in us from one of my favorite movies, The Sound of Music.

Do not call to mind the former things, or consider things of the past. Behold, I am going to do something new, now it will spring up; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the dessert.

Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB

Embrace the New Season of Life

In this new season, Bruce and I have written a Christian romance novel together. It’s been a challenging undertaking considering neither of us had ever written a story of fiction since high school. Our styles are different, and we butted heads often about scenes and how to describe the transformations of our hero and heroine.

But through it all, we persevered. God helped us grow to be better writers together. A wonderful coach patiently taught us great writing skills. We succeeded in a challenging quest. Now we have the task of publishing and marketing the book.

God is never done with us. His word says nothing about retirement. There’s no scriptural story of retirees kicking back on the beach to play canasta. I think God has a special role in mind for retirees. We have more time than ever before, years of experience, and lifelong friendships. And most of all, we have a relationship with the One who knew us before the world was created. He will guide us through the challenges ahead. We will never have to go it alone.

But to embrace the new season, we need to catch the vision that God planned for us. The fruit from every season of life is rich with potential to impact others. We baby boomers are at the age now where we should focus on building up and strengthening the next generation. To mentor them, to encourage them, to show them the way to finish well, even when difficulties surround them.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4 NASB

My New Season of Life

I will be taking a hiatus as I make some changes to my website and plans for my new season of life. I don’t know exactly what that will look like yet. But God does! I will begin by seeking His will and direction as Bruce and I work our way into the next step.