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Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life

7 Gateways to Spiritual Growth

by Jane Marie Thibault, Richard L. Morgan

eBook

Older Adults

Do you dread growing old?

The Last Third of life, from age 60 on up, doesn't have to be feared. When viewed from a Christian perspective, this season of life can be meaningful, endurable, and even joyful, say authors Jane Thibault and Richard Morgan.

Thibault and Morgan suggest approaching the Last Third as a pilgrimage—a journey full of purpose, ripe with opportunities for spiritual growth.

The authors, ages 65 and 82, dig deeply into the realities of their lives and give you 7 ways to open yourself to God and the abundant life God wants for you. They address 7 gateways to spiritual growth:

Facing Aging and Dying
Learning to Live with Limitations
Doing Inner Work
Living in and Out of Community
Praying and Contemplation
Redeeming Loss and Suffering
Leaving a Legacy

This collection of scripture-based meditations will inspire you or someone you know to move fearlessly into the Last Third, looking forward to the opportunities this time of life can hold. The book includes reflection questions and can be used by individuals or groups for a 7-week study.

About the Author

Jane Marie Thibault, a retired gerontologist and professor of Family and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the author of 10 Gospel Promises for Later Life and A Deepening Love Affair: The Gift of God in Later Life. Thibault is coauthor (with Richard Morgan) of No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted: The Spirituality of Caring for Persons with Dementia.

Richard L. Morgan is a retired chaplain, pastor (PCUSA), and professor. He most recently served as a volunteer chaplain at Redstone Highlands, the senior living community where he resided near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Davidson College; a master of divinity, master of theology, and PhD from Union Theological Seminary; and a master of counseling from Wake Forest University, Richard was named the 1987 Man of the Year by the city of Lenoir, NC; awarded the 2013 Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Award; and honored as the 2015 Volunteer of the Year at Redstone Highlands Senior Living Community.

Reviews

The dynamic duo of Jane Thibault and Richard Morgan has done it again! *Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life** is a relevant guidebook to equip each generation to compassionately understand and richly walk through the last third of life. This book will become a well-used resource for all who work in the aging community. It is honest, poignant, reflective, encouraging, and, most of all, empowering! I applaud Jane and Richard for the transparency in their writing to help all who have or will enter the last third of life! Thank you for the lessons gleaned from this amazing book!
—Robin Dill, Director of Grace Arbor, the Congregational Respite Ministry of First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and author of *Walking with Grace**

Each page of this book brings a new delight and insight. It is a book to be slowly savored as it leads the reader to contemplate the mysteries of aging, dying, and death, secure in the assurance of the abundance of God’s abiding love for us, regardless of our circumstances. The scripture passages, poems, prayers, and personal stories selected by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard Morgan reveal a new, countercultural vision of life in old age—a life filled with love, hope, and continuing spiritual growth.
—Susan H. McFadden, PhD
Professor of Psychology
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh

This devotional guide is for those willing to look at aging and to mine its spiritual depths. It is also for those not so willing to look agin in the face but who would dare to search for buried treasure.
—Karl A. Netting, MDiv
Hospice Chaplain

I like this book because the chapters are short and the advice is so practical. It offers good reflections for seniors. It will be helpful to family members—and to caregivers and pastors as well. Thanks to Jane and Richard for making their experiences available to many.
—Rev. J. Roy Stiles, retired pastor, Louisville, Kentucky

The spiritual streams of life seem to swell and flow more fully in the later years. And, although the later years can provide more time for dwelling on the things of the Spirit, most adults need help in their search for the deep meanings of life. In this thoughtful book of meditations and personal revelations, Thibault and Morgan provide wisdom and insight into spiritual growth that is readily available for all adults in the last third of life. They offer a glimpse of the possibilities for abundant life that have been promised to us by Jesus.

—Richard H. Gentzler Jr., PhD
Director, Center on Aging and Older Adult Ministries
General Board of Discipleship, The United Methodist Church