09 Oct Ezer in the Second Half

It’s been quite a year. I’ve buried my dad and a dear sister-in-law. I’ve welcomed my first grandbaby into the world. I’ve cleaned out and driven away from my childhood home for the final time.

I’ve walked beside my widowed mom as she’s navigated a year of deep sorrow and great transition. Changes and struggles in the lives of my adult children have not left my own mother’s heart untouched. Welcome to Ezer in the second half.

I’ve written before about the “seasons” of a woman’s life – how varied and many they are. The idea of seasons has been one of the most profound truths I discovered in Ezer. So why am I continually surprised when a new season opens up before me? Why do I struggle to let go of the familiar and settled comfort of one to move into the new that God is leading me into? Gaining an adorable granddaughter has been an easy leap. But learning how to comfort, encourage, and support my suddenly widowed mother? Now that’s been far more challenging.

“I’m slowly learning that my calling as an Ezer is a divine thread that runs through all my life’s seasons.”

Life and death. Changes and goodbyes. I’m learning that those are huge realities in the second half of a woman’s life. But I’m also learning that the gospel and the grace of God are the enduring and transcendent realities that carry me through, just as they did in the early years of my life. Going from a working single to a wife and mom, coming to Christ, moving from city to city and church to church, leaving old friends and making new ones, reentering the workforce, supporting my husband in an unexpected retirement, becoming a mother-in-law and a grandmother. All those seasons and life changes have been directed and enabled by the strong hand of my Savior. Although I am often surprised by the seasons that appear on my life’s horizon, my Father never is. As a former pastor of mine used to say, God is not in heaven pacing and wringing His hands!

I’m slowly learning that my calling as an Ezer – as one who comes alongside lending strength – is a divine thread that runs through all my life’s seasons. That thread is what ties all the years together, weaving the pattern of one grand tapestry that, I pray, in the end will bring glory to my God. Inviting, nurturing, and partnering look different now than they did in my 30’s, 40’s, 50’s – just like I do! But they are still the capacities that shape my days as I “ezer” in new roles and situations. My Father, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, sustains and reigns over it all. So I can rest in the way my calling is fleshed out today, and not fear regarding how it will look tomorrow. God’s faithfulness and the inevitability of change in this life are enduring constants. And yes, that brings a certain tension, but it also brings a great anticipation as I surrender my seasons to the One who, in perfect love and wisdom, orders them all.

-Libby Thomas, Powdersville