Navigating Life’s Transitions with Faith and Courage

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Author: Faith in Later Life

In the recently released “The Final Lap: Navigating the Transitions of Later Life” John Wyatt guides Christians through the different stages of life and how to approach them with grace and purpose. Wyatt covers retiring, dependency on others, and ultimately facing the finish line, all of which are part of that final lap of life. Wyatt honestly addresses the challenges that come with each transition, whilst highlighting the ways God blesses us and blesses others through us during those times.

John Wyatt’s book is the result of a life lived in service to others whilst reading the word of God. These two endeavours have forged the kind of wisdom in Wyatt which everyone needs to hear. What stands out even more so here is the care with which that wisdom is applied. The Final Lap covers life from retirement to death in just three chapters, but it never feels like anything is glossed over or dealt with in a trivial way. The brevity of the book is a strength in that it can be read in afternoon over a cup of tea, but will also be an easy resource pull of the shelf and revisit, as well as one which can be shared with anyone.

The Final Lap, though it is aimed towards older people, has a much broader application especially within our own Church Champion network. If you are reading this, I am sure that you love and serve older people, however; if you have not yet entered the second half of life yourself, it can be challenging to fully comprehend the joys and struggles that older people experience. Wyatt quotes the adage in the first chapter of the book, ‘We live life forwards but we understand it backwards,’ and I think this is true. I would love to have had the benefit of hindsight during difficult and challenging periods of my life, but alas, that simply isn’t possible. Though none of us have perfect foresight, God has blessed us with the insight of others, which is a wonderful part of local Church communities and the wider church. If you’re preparing for retirement, going into care, or you’re supporting others who are doing so, this book helps to provide some of those insights gained not only from experience, but more importantly from the word of God.

We’re immensely grateful to both John Wyatt and to 10ofThose for producing this work, which we hope will be an encouragement and blessing to many. Relative to other demographics, there are precious few resources for older Christians, but those few truly are precious, especially this one.

If you’re interested in picking up a copy for yourself or for someone you love, click here.