Article March 2, 1998 Issue

MIDDLE-AGED? NO THANKS

Gail Miller Menschel

Why is it that something within me rebels so strongly against the concept of "middle age"? I think it's the subtle implications and finality of that word middle.

If I'm in middle age, then I was once at a beginning age and I am heading toward an ending age. What's more, if I can be defined as middle-aged, then age is a valid measure of my identity. And if age defines me, then I must be a finite, limited being. Not so for me, or anyone.

The label "middle age" puts us in a most uncomfortable box, one that God could never have planned for us. A box in which it's assumed that sight, hearing, stamina, and so on will inevitably fade. I prefer to see myself running along an endless shore under a timeless sky, my vision widening as I run.

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