Purpose in the Third Third of Life
In a recent article, Dr. Mark Roberts of the De Pree Center wrote, “Those of us in the third third of life often yearn for a clear and compelling sense of purpose in this season of our lives. The typical retirement narrative, with its emphasis on recreation and relaxation, sounds appealing in a way. Yet we realize that we need more meaning in life than this narrative offers. Plus, we have a deep desire to make a difference in the world, especially in the lives of those about whom we care deeply. We find ourselves yearning for third third purpose.”
How do we go about identifying what our purpose is in the third third of life? I just participated in a 5-week pilot course Dr. Roberts and his team at the De Pree Center have developed called “Purpose in the Third Third of Life.” It was excellent and should be available for us to use later this year.
The last time most of us thought about the purpose of lives was in our 20’s. We either figured out our purpose or had it imposed on us by children or a career. Many of us haven’t had the need, time, and interest in thinking about the purpose of our lives for many years. But now as we are in the third third of our lives, it is crucial that we give some thought to this. This is something we focus on in the “Flourishing in the Third of Life” Class and the Uncommon Guide to RetirementBook Discussion.
In her book Make Work Matter, Michaela O’Donnell uses the analogy of Russian nesting dolls to help us think about our purpose. She writes, “We have an innermost calling from God—the most sacred and core calling to belong to Jesus. From there, more nesting dolls are added, each representing another layer of God’s calling to us. I want to suggest four layers of God’s calling: the call to belong to Christ, the call to work toward redemption, the call to create, and the call to particulars. “
I think it is crucial for our flourishing in this season of life to get some clarity on our purpose. If this is something you want to think more about, I recommend a series of articles Dr. Roberts wrote about this on the De Pree Center website. You can access them by clicking HERE.
Recently we hosted the first of what we hope will be quarterly “Lunch & Learns” on topics of interest to third third adults. These will be at 12:15 after worship on Sundays. This first one was called “Beyond the Nest: Guiding Young Adults to Independence” and was led by Dr. Ryan Tompkins. If this is a topic of interest, you can watch the recording here.
Seeking to live with purpose in the third third of life,
Steve McLean, Pastoral Fellow
