Day at the Races: The Far Turn! — Monday


Jeremiah 29:10-11
…I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised… I know what I’m doing… (MSG)


I never had a midlife crisis, but I’ve known many who have. I’ve seen the “deer in the headlights” look as they became aimless and confused. Yesterday, Scott preached about endurance in midlife. Let’s carry that theme forward all week, but first, let’s define our terms. 

Carl Jung placed the height of midlife trauma between 35-45. Others position it at 40-50, with the peak “crisis” time being 45. For our purposes, let’s just say that midlife is that season when our past and future seem to be equivalent in length; we stand at the peak of a mountain and can see as much in one direction as the other.

A myriad of feelings accompany the middle years; I’ll mention a couple today and jump back in tomorrow. One is fatigue, just a sense of being emotionally and physically overwhelmed. One guy who was struggling with life in his 40s put it like this: “I feel like a vending machine. Everybody’s pushing my buttons—at home, work, in the community, even the church. I show up at little league games, soccer matches, business meetings, school board and church meetings; I’m always overbooked. Life feels like a revolving door and I’m the door. It’s exhausting.” 

Been there? Maybe you are there. Anyone trying to raise teenagers understands fatigue! They turn 13 and then seem to become aliens from another planet. When you take them to school, they insist that you park 300 yards away so no one will see that their parent brought them! I remember those days well. Raising teenagers can be exasperating and exhausting!

Another mark of the middle years is discontentment. It can spring up repeatedly, sort of like a whack-a-mole game, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Why else would so many middle-agers launch into new careers, marriages, relationships, and hobbies with the expressed hope of “finding themselves”? The relentless pursuit of “meaning” smothers them, and they feel an intractable urge to escape. “Surely there’s more to life than this!” Been there? Hey—on occasion, me too.


Monday’s Reflection

We’ll talk more tomorrow. In the meantime, ask yourself, “How have I changed in the last 10, 20, 30 years and beyond? More importantly, ask yourself, “Do I like the me I’ve become?” Be honest.


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Day at the Races: The Far Turn! — Tuesday

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Day at the Races: The First Turn! — Friday