The Third Act
By: Scott Tolhurst
More Canadians are becoming seniors. In a few fleeting years 25% of our population will be over 65. And they will live longer than seniors lived before them. Many dread it. Society has us convinced that getting older is a curse. So, we try to cream away our wrinkles, comb over our bald spots and worry whether our health and money will last as long as we do. Is this how we want to walk into our senior years: laden with fears and clinging to yesterday? God considers long life to be a blessing. (Deut.6:2) But we approach the “third act” of life with a crisis mentality. It is going to take more than a fat nest egg or engaging hobby to navigate this season of living. Consider this.
The third act of life is harder than the previous two. Our first act is about becoming. We shape our identity with an education, a career and maybe a family. The second act is about achieving. We stuff our lives to the full, riding our success and gains towards stability and security. In the third act our bodies creak and pop, even in good health. Fragility and frailty are twin causes for too many trips to the doctor. Our world gets down sized. We move from independence to dependence. The third act is about letting go and preparing for a final curtain. The third act is harder, so …
The third act requires a different game plan. A winning team makes adjustments as the situation changes. This season is not simply a repeat of the first two acts of life. It is radically different and so requires a different approach. We move from certainty to mystery, complexity to simplicity, doing to being, achievement to significance. The tools we've used thus far are now insufficient. We need a new set of skills. Because…..
The third act of life is about going deeper. Paul speaks of the body failing, but the spirit thriving. (2 Cor. 4:16). Is that what you see around you? Within you? As we age, many reverse that order. We fight to maintain the strength and appearance of youth, but grow angry and fearful of heart. We need a new work of God. We need to go deeper with God, moving from the external to the internal. The changes of age are not threats or punishments. They are God's invitation to a spirituality grounded in our souls. They are God's method to strip us down to what matters. They are proof that God is still at work in us. Therefore….
Enter the third act with hope. The third act is where the plot of life begins to make sense. It is where loose ends are resolved and questions are answered. Whatever mystery remains, is received with contentment because we learn that we are not the author of our own life - God is. He will translate this story into an unending narrative of glory. The best is yet to come!