Welcome!
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Welcome to the third stage of life, Vanaprastha, the stage between the summer of building career and family, and the eventual winter of decline. The harvest time, and for us, a forest retreat in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains!
In 2010, I left my career with much foot-dragging—and an identity crisis. Who was I, now that I was no longer parenting or teaching? I soon found a new mission as a writer, but finding my true self took longer. My book Wisdom Builds Her House tells the story of how I looked back to the past for the first time in my life, applied the lessons of successes and failures, dismantled the person I thought could not be replaced, and discovered healing in the person I’d grown to be. Wisdom Builds Her House will be available for pre-order soon.
I urge those in this stage of life or on the cusp to embrace the challenge. For encouragement, join me on social media or subscribe to receive my posts and newsletters.
Recently posted on the blog
Visioning grace, as Thanksgiving leads into Advent and Christmas
When Keith’s brother-in-law said grace before the family’s Thanksgiving feast, I couldn’t help but think of three other Thanksgiving families: my first-stage-of-life growing up family, the second-stage-of-life family with my children, and my third-stage-of-life...
Trees and wind and knots and fruit yielded in season
Here in the third season at Vanaprastha, the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. Now that the winds have stilled, I will blow the debris from ditches and culverts along the road. It’s a task I enjoy, participating in the cycle of life. I cannot remember a...
What story captivated your imagination as a child, and why?
During the workshop I presented for Story Circle Network last Wednesday night, titled “Finding Your Real Story,” the final question was: Why this story? I shared a little about my own not-so-straight path, the turning points that redirect...