The latter chapters of your life are when you have the most to invest in terms of money, time and wisdom. Biblically, there are three areas we are directly called to invest in: mentees, grandchildren, and the cause of Christ through the local church of which we are a part.

At some point in the arc of a life, you begin to realize you have fewer years ahead of you than you have behind you. It’s called getting old. When this happens, you begin to give increased attention to things you may have put off to the side during younger years, such as your health or retirement.

In a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Breheny Wallace pointed out the retirement crisis that no one warns you about: mattering. We plan for future wealth and health but give little thought to what it will take to continue to feel seen and heard. She writes of the angst that ambushes many:

It was an erosion in… their sense of mattering, the deep human need to feel valued and to have a chance to add value to the world. We plan for our wealthspan and healthspan, mapping out financial security and physical well-being. Yet very few of us prepare for an equally essential dimension of retirement: our mattering span, or how we will continue to feel seen, useful and capable of making a difference in this next chapter of life.

She notes that the consequences are profound. Citing a 2020 meta-analysis published in the journal Healthcare, nearly a third experienced depressive symptoms. The psychological losses embedded in retirement—feeling less valued, needed or connected—were strong predictors of postretirement depression.

Read More