The Magazine

I never thought that I would be sitting reflecting on the value of my spirituality in later life. As we focus in this edition on the particular demographic of Christian ‘baby boomers’, I found myself realising that there can be no denying that I am now part of that cohort.

One only has to look around our churches and communities to find that it is those in their sixties and seventies who are running so many activities provided for others. Many are combining that with the continuation of their full-time jobs, not hanging their boots up at 60 or 65, but working on as part of the new freedom given to us to retire when we want to.

Many of us have been Christians for a very long time and understand the importance that our faith plays in our lives, but we also have so much to be thankful for. We’re thankful to God for the care that he has given over the decades. We also understand that we still have a need to love and serve others. I am often reminded that love is about the only thing that you can give away in as greater quantity as you would like and still have heaps left to give to others.

There is a Hindu prayer which says “yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is only a vision, yet today well lived makes every yesterday a happy memory and every tomorrow a vision of hope”.

As part of our Christian life we hope to give others, and ourselves, happy memories and we live in hope of a better world to come. We in the Church of England need to ensure that we have person-centred care for all within our Family.

Spirituality is, I am told, a concept which today is viewed as broader, more inclusive than religion. I believe that spirituality is very much part of my religion, my faith, my meaning, my understanding, and spirituality lifts me and aids me in my everyday work. Being one of those noted above running many of the various activities at our local organisations whilst still working; not yet caring for grandchildren but still very much caring for my two children, and juggling my busy life with a life based on the teachings of Christ.

All the above reminds me how important God is in my life and how fortunate I am that he has provided me with the ability to think and struggle to understand. Indeed, God affords us all the opportunity to support each other and to celebrate what we can offer to the younger generations; our time, our resources, our wisdom, our care and our love.

All this in later life comes to us as God’s gift – a joyous way for us to express our spirituality for the generations that follow us, always remembering Galatians 5:22-23 “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”.