Thriving as a Wife and Mom in the Middle Years

Somewhere around the midpoint of life, the questions begin.

Am I on track with my goals? Or am I playing catch up?
Should I make changes to my life?
How am I doing in my marriage?
How am I doing as a parent?

“Middle age” is often defined by age – somewhere between 40 and 60 – but it is also defined by stage. Some women feel like they’re in midlife in their early 30s because their children are older than other moms their age. Other moms start their families later in life. Either way, an internal barometer nudges you and you get start feeling, “I’m not at the beginning anymore. I’m in the middle.”

Sometime, mid-life can become a time when questions turn into confusion which turns into despair which spirals into unusual or irrational behavior. But mid-life can be a healthy transition where you assess what’s good or bad, what’s working and what should be changed, and then moving forward to the next stage of life into what God has prepared for you.

That’s a much healthier approach than the stereotypical “midlife crisis.” There’s no reason to “flee our youth,” but there’s no reason to hang on to it desperately, either.

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Thriving as a Wife and Mom in the Middle Years,” Lisa-Jo Baker is back with us. She’s an author, speaker, and podcast host who has a gift of encouragement. She helps motivate Christian moms to celebrate themselves and their families, and to embrace lessons to be learned during the life’s middle years.

She shares how to:

Embrace your beauty. Ignore labels that define beauty in today’s culture. Focus instead on God’s view of you.
Celebrate the ordinariness of true love. Sometimes love is messy – more mac-n-cheese than candlelight dinner. Dreams and romance are balanced with dirty dishes and morning breath.
Reframe parenting challenges. Parenting is an exercise in starting over. Just when you’ve earned your Ph.D. in newborns, it’s the first day of school in parenting a toddler. Every new season of life puts us right back at the beginning.
Be brave for your children. Rather than protecting our children from their fears, we can model how to be brave and face them.
Find heroes for your children. Children are wired to believe in things that are bigger than them. Point them in positive directions.
Develop friendships in your middle years. Relationships come with risk but are vital for encouragement, affirmation, and strength when the crises of life become overwhelming.
Deepen connection. Move past polite conversation to real talk. It’s both uncomfortable and comforting.
Strengthen your faith. Belief and doubt are like dance partners, winding their way through life, arm-in-arm.

Listen on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

Lisa-Jo Baker’s book The Middle Matters: Why That Extraordinary Life Looks Really Great on You as is available for a gift of any amount. For more information, visit our website or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).