.svg)
‍
At age forty, after I became a partner at my law firm, I thought I had finally made it. I had a great wife and four children. Our mortgage was paid off, and my legal career was going gangbusters with many clients.
But soon after celebrating my climb up the mountain of success, I felt restless and empty. I wondered if there was more to life than working twelve-hour days and helping clients protect their wealth.
Something was poking at me on the inside. Maybe something else waited for me—a second career, I thought. I wasn’t sure what it was or how it might look. I just knew something kept bugging me.
I tried to swipe away my restlessness like a pesky fly. I scolded myself, “Why can’t you just be happy with your life as it is right now?” But the nudge, which felt like an elbow jab, wouldn’t go away.
During a monthly spiritual direction session, my mentor Don told me to listen to the nudge. Don’t push it away. The restlessness might be God inviting you to move in a new direction.
Don suggested I read two books: Halftime by Bob Buford and Falling Upward by Richard Rohr. I scoured the books, searching for insights.
Buford and Rohr explained that our lives have two halves.
‍
The first half is our survival phase. We go to school, get our educations, find a mate, maybe raise a family, and launch a job or career.
Around age forty, we get restless. We find our lives have become dreary and meaningless. Emptiness and discontent haunt us. Sometimes, life events trigger half-time, like job loss, retirement, or illness.
During those seasons of change, we might question ourselves and try to numb the suffering often accompanies this transition into the second stage of life.
Some people call it a midlife crisis. But according to Buford and Rohr, the Holy Spirit is inviting us to move into the second half of life.
Buford says halftime is an invitation to move from success to significance.
Many people get stuck in the first half of life, uncertain how to navigate these unchartered waters. They become disillusioned and angry. They try pacifying themselves by buying a sports car, playing endless golf games, or chasing a lover.
However, halftime is a natural part of life, like a football game. It’s a time to pause, take stock of our lives, and seek God’s guidance as we move into the second half.
In doing so, we discover we can find deeper fulfillment and wholeness as we discern how we’d like to leave our mark on the world.
At Don’s suggestion, and after reading Buford’s and Rohr’s books, I brushed the dust off the Spiritual Gifts Inventory I’d taken years ago. I asked God to show me where I was being invited for the second half of life.
In doing so, we discover we can find deeper fulfillment and wholeness as we discern how we’d like to leave our mark on the world.
At Don’s suggestion, and after reading Buford’s and Rohr’s books, I brushed the dust off the Spiritual Gifts Inventory I’d taken years ago. I asked God to show me where I was being invited for the second half of life.
The answer didn’t appear overnight. But as I looked over my spiritual gifts inventory results and asked myself what I’d like to do with the rest of my life, the answer unfolded.
In the following years, I returned to school for a master’s degree in pastoral counseling and became a certified spiritual director. A friend in the publishing industry recognized my writing talent and nudged me to author several books and start a weekly spiritual reflection blog.
I transitioned from a thirty-year legal career to a new life as a full-time writer and spiritual mentor. Encouraging others in their spiritual growth and writing books and reflections on integrating faith into everyday life became my passion. I had found my sweet spot.
It can occur in early adulthood when restlessness fills us, and we wonder if there’s more to life.
It might come as we reach retirement age and ponder what we’ll do with the rest of our lives.
We might even have several halftimes in our lives as we move from season to season.
Here are several steps you can take when you feel the God-nudge that calls you to go into the locker room of your life and ponder where God’s calling you:
Over time, and with God’s grace and guidance, trust you can move through halftime and discover a whole new playing field for your life.
And remember what Bob Buford says,
For the second half of life to be better than the first, you must make the choice to step outside of the safety of living on autopilot.
—brian j plachta
brianplachta.com
‍
Brian Plachta is a lay ecclesial minister, an attorney turned author, spiritual mentor, and teacher. He holds a master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling and is a certified Spiritual Director.
After taking a spiritual gifts inventory in his 30s, he discovered God was inviting him to a life of writing, teaching, and mentoring others on the spiritual path. Over several years, he retired from his job as an attorney at the law firm he established so he could follow the call to serve others in new, life-giving ways. Â
Brian’s most recent book is Finding Flow—Spiritual Practices to Reclaim Inner Peace, Balance, and Wholeness. His upcoming book, Discovering the Power of Divine Flow—The Contemplative Path to Direct Experience with God, will be published next year.Â
Brian’s street-level spirituality style shines forth in his “Simple Wisdom for Everyday Living” weekly blog, which he has written and sent out free to over 6,000 readers every Monday since 2016.Â
Learn more about Brian, download his free spiritual tools, or subscribe to his weekly Simple Wisdom for Everyday Living reflections at: https://brianplachta.com.
You can also listen to many of Brian’s guided meditations and workshops on his YouTube Page.