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Just after Terri Beasley's* 46th birthday, her husband—a former pastor—left her. Their four children had grown and moved to another state. Suddenly, the house she'd raised her kids in was for sale, the church she'd helped start with her ex-husband was too awkward to visit, and her siblings were too far away to help.

She spent the next few months grieving the loss of everything close to her, questioning even the Christian faith on which she'd based most of her life. She packed up a lifetime of memories and familiar belongings and moved into a small apartment across town, feeling more and more unsettled about the future.

Then something happened. The group of women with whom she'd prayed regularly began praying for Terri. As they did, Terri's daily purpose was redefined. Her faith in God was restored, and her calling to serve others clear.

"That time in my life was not easy, but change never is," Terri says now, almost ten years later. "But I'll always be grateful because it made me realize how real God is, and how his purpose for me—to know him—never changes."

Terri's story reminds us that we can find deep joy and meaning in our middle years. And rather than moping through them, we can face midlife as an adventure, not a crisis, an opportunity to explore and grow and live in ways we never before imagined.

Before venturing down any new road, it's important to pull out a map and understand your bearings. That's what Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of The Afternoon of Life: Finding Purpose and Joy in Midlife, decided to do once her children left home and began having their own families.

"So many people—women especially—invest themselves for so long but then don't know what to do when their children marry or their beauty fades or their parents become elderly," she says. "People in this part of life ask questions in the context of these issues and in how many days they might have left. I wanted to help others see that God's purpose in bringing us through this time is to glorify Himself and sanctify us."

With stories, humor, and biblical insights, Fitzpatrick urges us to reflect on where we want to be going and directs us continually to Scripture, which confirms the permanence of our lives with Christ. She says various moments in the afternoon of our earthly lives—readjusting a marriage, preparing for grandchildren, or caring for parents—are like signposts on a road. Each points us to the ultimate adventure in heaven. "God has been kind to us by force-feeding us with change: change of home, change of job, change of family situation. He's been kind in that he's reminding us that this really isn't our home, that we're supposed to be looking for a different one."

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