Reflections on Life Since I Entered my 40's

Well, ever since I've entered my 40's life has been filled with LOTS of changes.  It causes one to stop and ponder more on this new stage in life.  The 40's started off with a "Bang!", as on my 40th birthday Jay called to suddenly let me know the shocking news that he would be losing his job.

  We didn't see that one coming at all.  He had been there and was quite content for seven years.  Well, that was a good thing, because you have to prove to the social workers that you have fairly stable lives before you are allowed to adopt a child.  So glad that life became "topsy-turvy" after bringing our daughter home, rather than before.  This unbelieveable news occurred just six weeks after bringing our then 13-year-old daughter home from Thailand.  She was already quite traumatized, herself, by the biggest change, ever, in her young life by moving to an entirely different country.  So, needless to say, the news of Daddy losing his job was pretty scary.  I remember asking God, "Why now, Lord?"  Thankfully, God doesn't get upset by our questioning minds.  He knows our weaknesses and frailities.

So, that was the start of the 40's.  Then I was told I had better take some online college courses or I would lose my full-time job at the preschool.  After spending the money (well, borrowing, because we were broke), they ended up cutting my hours by half.  Now, that didn't seem fair!  But, welcome to the new reality of a busted economy.  At the next preschool job I had didn't fare a whole lot better.  My hours gradually were being cut there, too, until I was forced to try my third shot at yet, another school.  As it turned out, I got back up to 30 hours, but I was not really happy with what was going at that school.  Every year Jay and I had new jobs since Penny came home.  So, when Jay's third job was told they might be shutting down, he took a chance by applying for teaching jobs, again, ANYWHERE....and ended up with the fourth job in the Denver area.  So, we sold the first house we ever owned, which Penny was just feeling comfortable in.  Now, he's at the fifth place in six years, and once, again, planning on looking elsewhere.  The unknown has become the new norm for us in our forties.

Then there is the new journey into entering that middle stage of life when you begin to notice that your body is not quite acting the same as it used to.  The first sign for me has been my eyesight.  It's really driving me crazy that I can no longer read without glasses.  I'm now at the stage of having two pairs of bifocals, one for distance/reading and the other for computer/reading.  Jay is noticing new aches and pains, too.  Somehow, it seems that your metabolism starts to change, too.  It's getting a whole lot easier to put on weight and much harder to work it off!  And now I've facing the fun of being female in the middle stage of life with the new excitement of getting hot flashes and weird symptoms that remind me of teenage PMS, only vamped up.

  Only, there's also this strange, new symptom I never heard about called formication (crawling, itching, or tingling skin sensations),   What is this?  I feel like I don't know myself, anymore.  The good news is that I'm getting a little relief with a female hormone supplement.  But, I'd appreciate any suggestions that my older lady friends might have!

Well, I don't know if it's the fluctuating hormones or the fact that my "baby" of only six-and-a-half years is about to graduate that is making me so reflective.  It's probably also the fact that we've lost several dearly loved ones over the past year.  But, it's certainly making me think more about what I have to be thankful for during this different season in life.  Let me list them...

1.  We have a roof over our heads.
2.  We have food and clean, running water.
3.  We are relatively healthy.
4.  Jay and I have been happily married for almost 12 years, now!
5.  We have a beautiful, precious daughter who loves Jesus!
6.  God has provided me with a part-time job, which is also a great ministry.
7.  We live in peace while others are suffering in war-torn countries.
8.  We have many caring relatives.
9.  We are starting to feel more at home in our "new" community since moving.
10.  Most importantly, we know that Jesus died for our sins and was raised to new life to give us the promise of eternal life with Him!

Well, I am realizing that through all of this, it's good to have a sense of humor and realize that you're not the only one going through unexpected changes, even if some of them your parents warned you about when you were young and "knew it all"!

Well, now that is really funny, because I NEVER would even dream of wanting a tatoo!  I'm just realizing that I'm actually getting older, because I'm checking more for gray hairs, my daughter is pointing out new wrinkles and I'm feeling "old-fashioned" because I don't have a smart phone and don't really want to do the whole "texting thing".  Perhaps I should try that "Bike-Across-Canada" idea.  Well, no, I'm lucky if I can make it up our big hill when I try biking to-and-from work, 7 miles one-way.  There's one thing to look forward to...we're getting closer to getting all of those "senior benefits".  Ha!

Yes, even in new, unfamiliar stages of life, we can remember that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away and ALWAYS, blessed be the name of the Lord!  He will help us navigate every new stage of life until He takes us home to be with Him.