Since Dennis and I retired, or more correctly stepped aside, from leading FamilyLife in 2018, we've spent a lot of time thinking and talking about what this next season of life might look like. Just as we enter all new seasons of our lives with complete naiveté, so we were clueless when we entered our next chapter after FamilyLife.
I think you'll agree that when we enter marriage, parenting, new jobs, or even new homes we begin almost blindly. Every season is a continuation in our journey of life in which we all age and step by step get nearer our finish line. What makes getting older complicated is no one knows where their finish line lies.
What may surprise you is that getting older isn't a new conversation for us. When Dennis was in his 20’s his mentor Howard Hendricks shared with him that he did not believe retirement was a biblical concept. So this idea of “not retiring,” which means retreating from battle, but “redirecting and refiring” has been our thinking for a very long time.
These past six years since leaving Family Life have found us finding new purposes, a new pace, and new understanding about each other. Our overall goal is to be as intentional with where we invest our time and energy as we always have. Aging is inevitable, but losing purpose is not.
All of us are aging. All of us are getting older. The question is how are you growing? What is your life goal as long as you have breath? Do you see yourself living life to the fullest as long as you can? Then what are you doing today to accomplish those goals?
Growing older is something for ALL of us to be thinking about. Dennis and I started talking specifically about what we are doing that is giving us life and what we are doing to keep us growing. We have recorded these conversations in a series of podcasts titled “Growing Older Without Becoming Old.”
And there is a difference.
The first five-part series will run all this week. Today instead of my usual blog post I want to share part one with all of you. We will post a new podcast episode each day this week on my Friends & Family portion of Substack. If you want to listen to all of them, you can join my Friends & Family with a subscription for only $5 a month. This will also give you access to all previous blogs, podcasts, and Bible studies plus all that's coming in 2024.
As you listen we'd love to hear your thoughts. Hit the leave a comment button below and share your comments and wisdom with us. It might end up in one of our discussions this year!
The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Growing Older Without Becoming Old, Part 1 - Building Endurance