A Book Review – Marianne Williamson’s Miracles at Mid-Life

"A problem of midlife is the temptation to be redundant, simply imitating ourselves by doing the same things we've always done but with less verve."

Often, traditional and conservative Christian disciples rigidly differentiate between sacred and secular.  This firmly drawn line usually results in tunnel vision which in turn yields an officious myopia.  Christians denigrate spirituality, art, wisdom, beauty and many other edifying pleasures in life because of a naive adherence to an elementary worldview.  Mostly, an insistence upon faithfully following the rules of Christianity with a grade school desire to earn an "A" on the latest report card results in dismissing much of the joy Almighty God offers in the natural world and through human creativity.  I posit it is very misguided of disciples to restrict the definition of "Christian" to their particularly limited prism of experience.  In so doing, they inadvertently omit people and activities that glorify our Lord who graciously gives artists, musicians, writers and entrepreneurs the inspiration and gifts to enrich humanity.  Essentially, I suggest Christian disciples appreciate the height, breath, depth and width of divine inspiration embodied in arts, humanities and natural sciences even if they would not normally label an activity as "Christian." To that end, I offer clergy can empower congregants with genuine spiritual wisdom they may not ordinarily characterize as "Christian." 

Adding to the voluminous self-help literature, Marianne Williamson's Miracles at Midlife offers helpful, ageless and substantive spiritual advice for clergy and laity as they enter the afternoon of life. Admittedly, this text is not "Christian" in any traditional sense.  Nevertheless, she encourages readers to embrace the spiritual opportunities which a mid-life crisis offers.  Realistically, a person will not answer the existential questions relating to faith, vocation, love and work in the afternoon of life in the same manner in which he or she did in the morning.  Among the countless books in the self-improvement genre, this stylistically simple book, written in conversational prose, primarily encourages its readers to seize the midlife crisis as a proactive and affirmative defining moment with potential to experience joy, healing and wholeness.

This book contains a rather powerful thought.  In the early afternoon of life, Almighty God returns the script of your life and allows rewrites.  We internalize many lessons of ego deflation and diminishment emerging through failures and mistakes such as termination from a job on unfavorable terms, divorce due to immaturity, inability to gain admission to a graduate school program, and consistent personality and relational clashes with colleagues as a result on unresolved childhood pain.  A formidable and unrestrained ego contributes significantly to the adverse consequences of self-sabotaging behavioral patterns.  In contrast, Williamson assures us of the limitless possibilities of a new start.  These new beginnings with divine compassion and guidance are miracles at mid-life.

Should you continue to collide with life's myriad brick walls or repeatedly enroll involuntarily in classes in the school of hard knocks, you will find wise, helpful and practical answers in Williamson's book.  She encourages you to grasp your life's script and eagerly start rewriting.  Developing a genuine spirituality is the primary step in the editing process.  As God is "the giver of every good and perfect gift," He greatly desires your success, excellence, joy and wholeness in life.  As you resist dependence upon ego which popular spiritual literature translates "easing God out," you open your mind and heart to divine creativity which enables you to live the life you have always imagined.

Unquestionably, Williamson's book is not without problems.  Its fundamental flaw is the chapter in which she depicts the historical, institutional Church as constitutionally misogynist.  She paints with very broad brushstrokes; thereby declaring the Church guilty of historical crimes without reasonable and reliable evidence to substantiate her polemical claims.  As I read this chapter, I dismissed her assertions as unfounded.  I realize she is not offering an academic analysis of these important issues in the history and contemporary life of the Church.  Nonetheless, as many of her readers may fall prey to the temptation of accepting uncritically her statements, her failure to reference a few authoritative sources is most regrettable.  Inadvertently, she disparages clergy and churches that have accomplished much in establishing equality between men and women as it relates to ecclesiastical and secular leadership. I recommend readers seek a more balanced view.

Williamson’s book offers pastors a few practical tools for preaching and Christian education.  Transforming a midlife crisis into a defining moment parallels the metamorphosis of the crucifixion into the resurrection.  Redemptive suffering is one of the major motifs of the Christian gospel.  Williamson’s thoughts offer disciples a pragmatic and practical means of utilizing their past pain to mature spiritually and develop personally.  Rewriting the script of one’s life begins with a commitment to a process of thorough and perhaps difficult self-examination.  In the spiritual disciplines of prayer, meditation, Bible study and worship, disciples acquire encouragement and empowerment to persevere towards inner healing and wholeness.  Pastoral counseling or clinical therapy and other interpersonal relationships such as mentoring, coaching or small groups are necessary supplements.  Regardless of the mountainous depth and breadth of a disciple’s past problems, he can level it by appropriating Williamson’s ideas into a genuine Christian spirituality.

Each generation of Christians faces the challenge of articulating the gospel in an intellectually respectable way.  Even within the Church, fundamental assertions of creationism, biblical inerrancy and the Apostles Creed are no longer sanctioned uncritically by any number of congregations or individual disciples.  Just as the Church must argue forcefully and respectfully for the gospel within public discourse, disciples strive to internalize Christ’s teachings in an authentic and reasonable way.  Williamson argues genuine spirituality emerges from honestly asking the tough questions of faith.  Life’s daily complexities present theological inquiries beyond the traditional academic problems of reconciling God’s existence with prevalent evil or the theoretical dilemma of employing the scientific method to prove biblical claims.  Existential crises such as cancer, bankruptcy, extended unemployment, betrayal and bereavement compel disciples to seek fresh answers in the afternoon of life.  Disciples do not inherit faith and spirituality from their forebears as they would money, real estate and other resources.  Whereas they are appreciative for the foundational tenets of Christianity and their ancestors’ very best traditional practices and legacy, contemporary disciples have the same challenge of defining and cultivating a very personal and authentic spirituality.  Williamson insist embracing the obstacles of midlife as opportunities is a most reliable means of reaping the rewards of miracles God performs in a person’s life.