40 years

My friend Rolf Luginbühl is 40. A special blessing for you today, Rolf, and welcome to the club.

40 - a mystical number. Noon of life. From now on: after noon. In the bible, you became a real man at 40. Many men married at 40 - or took their second wife. They went out to explore new countries (like Caleb), encountered the harsh realities of life and their true destiny (like Moses) or became Kings (like Isbaal). What we call Midlife crisis is in reality God`s challenge to become who you really are, to learn about love, accept your limits and venture into a phase of natural fruifulness, based not only on what you do but who you are.

The best book on this age that I read was "Lebensmitte als geistliche Aufgabe" by Anselm Grün (sorry, only in German). A true eye-opener.