Coming Into My Own: Embracing My Natural Calling in Midlife.
God planted the fire. Her gifts were never lost- just waiting for the right time. Now she carries them forward.
There's a shift that happens when you’ve spent decades immersed in family life- the very beautiful, exhausting, all- consuming world of motherhood and caregiving- and then find yourself standing in a quieter house with grown or almost grown children.
Lately, as a middle- aged woman, I've come to notice something stirring within me: a deep knowing that now is the time to fully express who I am, to do the work in the world that flows naturally from me because it is me.
For so long, like many women, I lived in devotion to my family, putting my heart and energy into raising my children. That was my sacred calling for that season of life. It was exactly as it should be. Now with my roll shifting, I've realized that mothering-as profound and beautiful as it is-is only part of who I am.
There is something in addition that I am meant to offer.
When that creative, nurturing, intuitive energy inside us has nowhere to go, it becomes stuck- like a river trying to flow but finding a dam in its path. That stuckness creates an internal tug- of- war: the knowing that there's something we are meant to be doing, but we aren't yet doing it.
I've seen this in myself and so many women at this stage of life.
Some who had careers alongside mothering now feel the same pull. Often, those careers were necessary- a way to provide, to pay the bills- but they didn't necessarily fulfill the soul’s deeper call.
And now, standing at this crossroads, many of us are being invited to listen more closely: "What is the work that is truly mine to do?”
For me, my journey included years as a special education teacher, stepping in and out of the workforce as I was called to, especially through the seasons of motherhood. Teaching touched part of who I am- the nurturer, the caregiver, the encourager. But a deeper part of me, the healer, remained hidden beneath the structure and expectations of the system. My greatest gifts- the ones I was truly born to share- weren't fully able to shine there.
And recognizing that now feels so freeing.
It's as if I've been given permission to finally honor the fullness of who I am. To do the work that is so deeply aligned with my natural inclinations, my heart, and the way I was created. Work that is an expression of my very being.
I believe this is something many women experience in mid-life. A reclaiming. A reawakening. Not just to do more, but to be more fully ourselves- and to let our natural gifts finally have space to live, breathe, and serve the world in the way they were always meant to.
If you are feeling this stirring too, know this: you are not alone. This is the beautiful, messy, exhilarating work of becoming.
And it's never too late to answer the call.
Have you felt a call rising within you? I’d love to know what’s moving your heart.
