There are many reasons you may want to recreate yourself as a Christian woman in midlife.
You may be in the middle of a transition, such as entering empty nest, making career decisions, or approaching retirement.
Or it might be necessary to find out how to recreate yourself because of unexpected or undesired change or loss.
Or maybe you’re just tired of more of the same.
Thinking back on your life, you realize that as a young girl, you were instructed to follow prescribed steps on the path of creating your life: graduate high school, go to college or get a job, get married and have children.
But in the midlife season when you get to the end of that path, the steps you were following just stop. And if you happen to be experiencing some life changing challenges, you might have been forced to come to a sudden stop in the middle of the path you thought you would stay on.
Regardless of the reason, now there’s a significant gap. So you’re left wondering what’s next.
You may have been content with your life up until this point. Or you might have started wondering why you’re not happy when you’ve done all the things “they” said to do, and asking if there’s more to life than this.
You don’t want to just stay standing on the edge of uncertainty where you are. You want to move forward and step out onto a new path, but with life pulling you in so many different directions, maybe you’re not sure which way to go or what to focus on first. Or if you know what you want to change, perhaps you’re just not sure where to start.
The good news is that the gap is a good thing because this space brings the opportunity to reflect on where you’ve been in the past, where you are now, and where you want to be in the future. It’s an opportunity for recreating yourself in midlife.
What Does It Mean to Recreate Yourself?
As a woman of faith, you don’t have to worry about how to recreate yourself because God has a purpose and plan for your life. So you don’t need any of your next steps defined by other people or society. God will lead you on the path you’re meant to take and walk each step with you along the way.
“Recreate” means “to give new life or freshness to” or “to form anew in the imagination” as defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary.
So the parts of yourself or your life that you’ve left behind in the midst of life’s busyness or challenges that are now lifeless, can be refreshed or have new life breathed into them.
And the areas of life that are uninspiring, where you’re just going through the motions, can be reimagined with a new vision for the future.
For a woman of faith, recreating yourself goes beyond just finding new ways to be or new things to do to try to be happier with yourself or your life circumstances.
How to recreate yourself as a believer is all about partnering with God to transform yourself and your life to become and fulfill what He’s purposed for you.
And when you pursue this path of purposeful living, you’ll experience true fulfillment while making the unique impact in the world you were born to make!
So now you may be asking, “How can I recreate myself?”
How to Recreate Yourself in Midlife
Every Christian woman will have different parts of herself and her life to transform. You may have one or more focuses such as relationships, work, finances, fitness, or other areas of your inner or outer life.
You can prayerfully reflect to discern which areas need attention, especially those God is specifically calling you to focus on. If you don’t already have my free resource to help you in this process, you can access your Purposeful Living Assessment & Reflections Guide by clicking here.
Since the focus area is specific to each person, it’s useful to have a structured, repeatable process to follow to recreate yourself in each area of life so that you’re aligned with God’s best for you.
God will reveal to you where you specifically need to seek transformation to move closer to His vision for you. And once you have clarity of your focuses for personal and life changes…
Here’s a process you can follow in any area of life for how to recreate yourself in 7 practical steps:
1) Identify the Problem
Take inventory of your life and determine what needs to change. Where do you feel disappointment, dissatisfied, stress, frustration, or other negative emotions? What goals or areas of life are you not moving forward in despite your desire or efforts? In what areas of life are you aware that you’re not walking in God’s will or best for you?
If you aren’t sure why you are feeling discontent, but just know something needs to change, talk to close, trusted friends or family members who know you well and have your best interest at heart and may be able to share some insight based on what they hear or observe from you.
And always pray for God to reveal where you need transformation inside and out. If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5 NIV)
Write down all of the areas that came to mind and prioritize them, with the highest being those that would make the most difference in your life right now and have doable steps at this time.
2) Invite God’s Power
Invite God into the transformation process instead of striving to make change happen from your own power “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13 NIV) Pray for guidance and strength, read God’s Word for principles and promises to apply, and seek the prayer of other people with a heart for God.
If you’re working on what is in alignment with God’s will for you, He will empower and equip you with the wisdom, discipline, and perseverance to overcome obstacles and make progress. Write down anything God reveals to you throughout your journey so you can tie together any details to help you move towards the larger vision.
3) Adjust your Perspective
If you’re feeling doubts about who you are or what you’re capable of doing, remember that if God is calling you to do something, He will help you to do it. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. ~2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
Recognize the negative thoughts and limiting beliefs that are coming into your mind hindering you from peace and effectiveness moving forward. Write them down and replace them with the truth by using the steps in my post 5 Steps to Renewing Your Mind on Purpose. Your mindset will be either the biggest help or hindrance to recreating your life.
4) Find God’s Purpose
If you are veering away from God’s will into areas that are not intended for you, it is possible that you can find worldly success, but you may not produce the fruit within your life and the lives of others that God desires, and you may have some undesired negative experiences walking outside of His plan.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21 NIV The maximum fulfillment, effectiveness, and impact will only be born out of aligning with God’s purpose for the area you are trying to transform. Sometimes as you strive for good things, you miss the best things God has for you.
Whatever you do in the various areas of your daily life must ultimately support God’s purposes for those areas. You can learn what God is calling you to in the major areas of your life in my post 5 Areas to Seek God to Find Purpose as a Christian Woman. If you’re a little off path, knowing God’s character and reading His Word will guide you in the right direction. This is why growing in your spiritual walk is important to the effectiveness of how to recreate yourself in midlife.
Write down God’s purpose for the major area of life you’re focusing on, as well as what He’s revealing to you about His will in the specific goal you are trying to reach. Keep this in sight so you can compare your action steps and results to these to help you stay on track.
5) See the Possibility
It’s easy to assume you can’t do something or that if you do, it won’t be the vision that you really want it to be. Seek God to reveal His vision for the internal or external transformation you want to make. Even if you only have clarity around the first steps, if you are focused on God rather than personal gain, and what you desire aligns with His will for you or His people in general, you will be able to move toward this future vision.
There may be some obstacles along the way, and your personal best may look different than others, but what God has planned specifically for you will be possible. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ~Psalm 37:4 NIV
Write down the parts of your vision as they become clearer. Also write down any questions you have so that you can listen and look for clarity for those as you move forward. Be inspired by your vision knowing that you and God are partnering together to bring it to reality!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
6) Make the Plan
Some smaller life changes may be possible without a plan. But most of the time, creating a plan of action is best for effective forward movement, even if it’s a short and simple one, or is for just the first part of your path.
Reflect on your personality, values, strengths, preferences, life circumstances, resources, etc… so that you can make a plan that fits who you are and what’s possible during this season to manage expectations, set goals that are realistic, and commit to action steps are actually doable.
Seek God’s guidance on the best way to work toward your goals. He designed you and He has wisdom that you don’t, so His timing, methods, and pace will always be best. In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. ~Proverbs 16:9 NIV
Anticipate obstacles–both internal and external–that may come up while you pursue your goals. Plan ahead for how you will address these if and when they arise. This will help you to be prepared and your plan less likely to derail.
Also, define success in God’s terms instead of what’s expected by the world, other people, or even your own expectations, which may be unrealistic due to being shaped by external influences.
7) Find your People
Sometimes you may not have the level of knowledge or experience to effectively plan for and work toward your goals. If this is the case, find people who’ve walked this path before who can provide input and resources to equip you to take proper action. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with man advisers they succeed. ~Proverbs 15:22 NIV
Of course, you want to make sure that those you are taking counsel from indeed are credible, but also that they have your best interest in mind, and in some situations you may want to do you best to find a fellow believer to have a Christian perspective and partner with God together.
In addition to more formal help, seek like-minded people who will commit to making time in their lives to offer prayer, encouragement, support, and accountability. Going it alone will sometimes sabotage your efforts, especially if you are working toward something new or challenging.
Outside of family or friends, you can connect with groups of people in person or online who have the same interests or goals. It makes a big difference in the level of motivation, discipline, and perseverance you maintain when you walk alongside others sharing challenges, ideas, and wins. A counselor, mentor, consultant, Christian coach, or other professionals can also provide support if you can’t find anyone else or need a broader or deeper level of expertise or commitment to your success.
10 Essentials to Recreating Yourself in Midlife – My Free Gift to You!
Now you have an effective and repeatable process to follow for all of the personal and life changes you desire to make as you’re recreating yourself in this season of midlife or transition.
However, some of the things you change to try to love yourself or your life more that are more outer life based can’t on their own truly change your life.
And it’s easy to miss some of the default patterns in your lifestyle and deeper things in your inner life– heart, mind, spirit–that are necessary for real, lasting transformation and fulfillment.
Without addressing these areas, you may find that the results of your efforts don’t create the life satisfaction you expected, or you might even struggle to reach some of your goals in the first place.
Some essential steps must be in place to build upon.
That’s why I made the “Essential Guide to Recreating Yourself in Midlife as a Christian Woman”. This resource guides you on a path of 10 essential steps to focus on to recreate yourself and your life from the inside out. You’ll work through simple, yet powerful reflections and actions to step into God’s best for your life now and in the future.
With the 7 step process above you’ll have a solid plan to work on any part of your life that needs attention.
And with this guide as an accompanying resource, you’ll focus on 10 key areas within yourself and your life to get on the path to create the freedom, foundation, and inspiration to build and sustain momentum toward your transformation to step into God’s best for your life now and in the future.
You can download my free resource Essential Guide to Recreating Yourself in Midlife as a Christian Woman here.
And if you need support in identifying what changes you need to make and how to recreate yourself in midlife, I welcome you to contact me and I’d be honored to walk with you
