I was reading a commentary about the journey through middle-age the other day and got stuck, as I tend to do, contemplating the concept of middle-age being the half-way point of life.

I like to think of myself as approaching middle-age, even though the odds of my having as many years ahead as I have behind me are, well… not good.

When I was young, under twenty, that is, I thought anyone over thirty was middle-aged. When I was in my thirties, middle-age had shifted to anyone over forty.

This phenomenon has continued until now I realize that middle-age begins with whatever decade I have not yet reached.

Although the middle section appears to be adjustable, three distinct stages of life are generally accepted; when one is either young, middle-aged or old.

So, just as there are three developmental trimesters from conception to birth preparing a person for life outside the womb, there are three trimesters of life in this world preparing us for heaven.

During these three stages we grow physically stronger during the first, more capable and productive during the middle and gradually more enfeebled in the last.

Looked at from a spiritual perspective, the Christian’s born again experience could be considered a spiritual conception when the soul begins its journey of preparation for eternal life in heaven.

Our spiritual growth stages do not mirror our physical ones; instead there is a steady increase in our spiritual understanding during all three, and rather than declining in the latter trimester, our spiritual vigor increases exponentially, with the addition of wisdom and increased reliance on God.

Although I’m reluctant to be classified as a woman past her prime, on the spiritual track I am happily middle-aged, praise God, and eagerly anticipating maturity.