The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

—Proverbs 20:29 NLT

elevisionwouldhaveusbelievethatlifefor20and30yearoldsiscarefree,fullof

friends,andrepletewithgoodtimes—thebeststageof life.Recently,weaskedagroup

of graduatestudentsthisquestion:“Whatdoyouthinkapersoninmidlife(middle-aged

person)looksandactslike?”Theirmostcommonanswerwasthis:“Amidlifepersonis

someonewhoisold—olderthanus.”Ironically,themajorityof thesegraduatestudentswere

intheirthirties;yet,theydidnotseethemselvesonthethresholdof middleage.

Societyisfearfulof growingolder—especiallyWesternsocieties.Consideradvertisements

foranti-agingproducts.Theadvertisingindustryaddstosocietalfearof agingbyportraying

aginginnegativetones.If youarelucky,theadssay,midlifeandbeyondmightinvolvea

sportscar,butchancesare,you’llreallybetoo“old”toenjoyit.Fewadsevenincludeolder

peopleasactors.Throughtheadvertiser’slens,agingtranslatestoatimewhenlifestandsstill

andpeoplewaittodie.

Marriage

andFamilyLife

The Middle and Late Years

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