I read a great book about a year ago called Half-Time,by Bob Buford.. Basically, it’s a term he gave to that “aha” moment when we actually pause a little bit and start asking some serious questions.
Where did the time go?
How in the world did I get to be this old?
How did the days actually drag by slowly and the years pass so quickly?
What did I actually accomplish during this time?
Whose lives did I impact?
Have I made a difference in this world yet?
How much time, worry, and energy was spent on myself?
If I were to be called home tomorrow, and I had to give an account of the time spent on Earth, what would I say?
This pause, this time of reflection he had called “Half-Time,” I had felt and experienced. I hadn’t really known what it was, but I so identified with the description.
I think it first hit when my oldest daughter was graduating from high school, set to make her mark on the world. That was a pivotal time for me when I first really internalized the possibility that I wouldn’t be just a “mom” forever. That thing that I had dreamed of becoming since the time I was old enough to hold my first “baby” had a beginning and an end. My kids would not always be home with me, needing me. I was more than a mom. But what was it?
Since then I have purposed in my heart to find out what “it” was. It’s a process. I’m not sure there is any one answer for me. I am positive there are many answers to this question for others.
But the pause, the “Half-Time” is a good thing. Time to assess and adjust. To purpose.
And a new resolve to not squander the second half of the short time I have left.
What about you? Have you reached your Half-Time yet?
